Fifty Truths
by ArAnCaR No. 6
Summary: AU RAIJIN DAYS. Because who said high-school was all fun and games? With midterms, homework, and unexpected admirers, that's hardly the case. Contains some Shizaya, and lots of Shizuo/Shinra/Izaya/Kadota friendship.
1. Through MidTerms

***heaves a sigh* Okay, here's the deal. I've been freaking out over college applications, AP classes, tennis games and practice against two of the higher-ranked schools that rival mine in play, and it's taken a bit of a toll on my health. I ache one way or another every morning, I'm slaving over books daily, my back hurts, my legs feel exhausted and as foul and inappropriate as it sounds, I haven't undergone the usual female cycle in two months. Oh, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm not preggo because I do not have a boyfriend and I haven't even started doing anything to being with, so that idea isn't a burden. Don't look at me like that, we're practically all girls on FF, IT HAPPENS. Unless you're the less than 2 per cent population of guys, to which I say to you to SUCK IT UP YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING UPON CLICKING "SIGN UP".**

**...**

**Point is, I'M STRESSED. And it's not even time for MidTerms yet.**

***groans***

**Which is why when my friend was asking me if the change in price between pork is a change in demand on the demand curve and therefore if it should be a shift from D****1 ****to D****2 ****when it is talking about beef in the first place that this story idea hit me faster than that tennis ball in the face from practice last year. Hope everyone enjoys.**

**...**

**And that was A.P MicroEconomics talking...**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: Doesn't belong to moi, monsieur.**

**xXx**

Midterms are perhaps the most horrible thing that could befall any student. Sure, in public school, it was kind of bad because you are just sitting there, wittling away on the sharp point of your No. 2 pencil with idle tasks that do not have relation to your assignments when BAM! Mr. Teacher at the front of the class decides to drop the bomb that is MidTerms on your ass. But it is fine, because they are nice enough to tell you what's on it: Your usual shapes and equations for mathematics, essay on the latest topic for Literature and Composition, and the ongoing events and the last 300 years for History. No big deal. You'll give them a quick lookover the days before, cramming it all in the moments before the teacher enters the classroom, his voice announcing that he will give a few extra minutes to look over some notes. Your first thought? _'F*CK YEAH!' _Ten minutes pass, the wicked and evil bundles stapled together in packets are passed around, and BINGO you're done in 20 minutes.

That's public school.

Last time Shinra, Shizuo, Izaya and Kyohei checked, Raijin was NOT a public school.

Well damn.

**._.1. Midterms were, to be blunt, HELL for them._.**

They were in luck, because the school always gave them a week off to study and do make-up work for MidTerms, and they always chose to study together, all four.

YES, ALL FOUR. The tests at the middle of the semester were severe enough that even Shizuo and Izaya ceased all fighting for three weeks. And to their utmost shame, it was the most peaceful month of the entire year, too.

They always picked one of their houses to spend nights slaving over the various material of the past month (their dumbasses all got advanced classes, so their inventory of notes and scribbled pages locked in spirals of thin metal and flimsy colored coverings rivaled the very size of the school property-turned-debris scattered nearly everyday by the two troublemakers themselves), but they chose wisely. An enviorment with little to no noise, lots of room, and no heavy objects in sight (temprorary truce or not, Izaya still pissed Shizuo off). In the end, however, they always chose the same location for the same reason. Well, Kyohei always did, because when Izaya even began to mention the six-letter word, he finished the conversation at that, followed by an idle remark of "You're evil." from the bleach-blond on the raven-haired boy's antics.

**._.2. They always went to Shinra's house because he has coffee. A LOT OF COFFEE.**

They were always forced to split the load. Sometimes, when Shizuo would miss a few days recovering from the latest broken bones, Kyohei had to jot down all of the teachers remarks of the character personality and themes they were analyzing from the English novel they were reading in class. When Shinra has to run out due to a call for a doctor, Izaya would highlight all the important points of classical republicism and differentiate the forms of government believed to be righteous or corrupt according to the mass of the population. Even when Izaya himself would be absent for days without saying a word, Shizuo would not fail to get down the six forms of limits in Calculus and why x cannot be equal to 0 and how to find it in the TI-84 calculator, because he knew that if he was in the same position, the flea would more than likely write out the difference between Demand and Quantity Demand, and whatever the hell T.R.I.B.E meant at the corner alond with the PPC curve for him (which he did a few weeks ago anyway).

And either way, it annoyed the hell out of him when the damn flea would whine outloud mid-lecture as to "what the hell that squiggly was**(1)**."

**._.3. They always covered for each other in class, no matter the circumstance._.**

They would sit on the floor the night before the exams at Shinra's coffee table, stacks of texbooks, novels, and notebooks littering the ground around them in a perimeter, some open to tables and graphs, others to definitions of various terms, and others simply closed, the corners bent at odd angles from the weeks of storage and their owner's frantic search as to were the latest topic's discussion lay.

They were taking in all information possible, turning sheets upon sheets of handouts over in an attempt at memorization, copying over the lectures from the other three if they had missed a day or two, flipping through stacks of lined paper in search of a fresh sheet, and reaching constantly for their own individual mugs for a hot sip of black coffee to keep them awake (Celty was nice enough to make the coffee runs for them). Shinra would frown and stare in worry at Izaya's workbook for MicroEconomics, trying to figure out what the hell _ceteris paribus_ was and forgetting the existance of his dictionaries a few feet over, as his middle school friend cursed to his right at getting one of the Politics questions incorrect from a week ago. Shizuo would refrain from trying to introduce his head to the table when he realized he couldn't remember how to find the range and domain of a function (it was so elementary!), Izaya would scowl at the sight of another question asking about the idea of the seperation of branches of American government ("America," he would growl, "I don't frickin live there, what do I care?" before sliding the open dictionary Kyohei had been using an hour prior over to the hyperventilating doctor), and Kadota would stare in dismay upon the sight of an essay for themes and character traits, typed neatly in 12pt across the white paper Shinra zeroxed for him two days ago.

Celty would merely stare at them from a few feet away, never imagining there would be a time they were capable of sitting quietly together like that, before Shinra gave up and leaned over to Izaya, asking a question chocked full of words she did not recognize. Izaya would look over, usually vibrant rust eyes filled with confusion for a few seconds, mentioning a 'Law of Demand' to the doctor before he glanced pleadingly over to Shizuo. The blond, without looking up from the calculator he was punching numbers into (he finally figured out the range and domain, now he was battling the limit of a particularly confusing ), blindly reached somewhere behind him before handing over a worn composition book, riddled with various inks and graphite marks. Izaya took it gratefully, flipping through the dates before triumphantly pointing at the definition of the Law of Demand, a small comment of "I knew it! It's practically the same thing!" slipping past his lips before Kyohei himself let out a bland "Ah f*ck" as he remembered that he had forgotten a thesis statement.

**._.4. They could rely on each other for help when they needed it._.**

They slaved over pages now marred with accumulated lead-prints of their fingertips for hours after that, switching topics and sometimes tackling one altogether. It was, in Celty's point of view (and her ninth run), the first time she's ever seen them all cooperate (that wasn't between Shinra and Kyohei trying to stop Izaya from further taunting Shizuo). Shinra wailed at around 9:41 PM when Shizuo asked him for the notes for Government (he remembered that he didn't have them). Izaya burst out laughing at him, closing the notebook in his hands and breaking the long long silence they once held since 7:13 PM, lightening the tension of waking up for the big test the next day. Shinra comically cried out to his friend, something about how real friends do not laugh at their friends, only to have his comment officially killed by Kadota's soft mumble of "Friendship doesn't stop you from trying to operate of them,", followed by Shizuo's soft 'pfft' in mixture of agreement and amusement. Izaya continued laughing at him, breathlessly reaching over to Kadota's stack of notes for the green binder that has become familiar to him over the hours of class. He propped it open, flipping through the loose sheets for the notes Shinra was missing and Shizuo needed as the aforementioned student wailed some more over yet another subject that he had to cover before getting to the subject they decided to leave for last.

They cleared the table for Calculus, leaving what Izaya labeled as "the book of evil" alone on the table and mostly followed Shizuo's lead on his notes on the subject (as much as Izaya called him 'protozoan', he was surprisingly the best out of the four in mathematics). The subject was dull in Celty's opinion, and she refilled the overly used coffee pot before giving them one last lookover to make sure they didn't need anything (in reality, it was Shinra cooing at his love, Shizuo and Kyohei mumbling thanks for her services, and Izaya releasing yet another shriek of curses at the WindowSet)

It had been 12:22 AM.

She came back hours later, upon taking a glance at the clock to her side and seeing the late hour. _'2:30 AM,'_ she thought, _'they can't possibly be up still.'_

They weren't.

Who knows what time they decided to call it a night (or if they just fell one by one instead), but when she reentered the living room, it was quiet, void of the now irritating shuffling of paper and the cries Shinra emitted as the night wore on. The lights were still on, but they were all completely knocked out and in the most vulnerable state a human could be in.

Sleep.

Shinra, as expected, was half on the table, half off, lightly drooling in exhaustion. Celty faintly sweatdropped at his position, having long since known of Shinra's rather... odd, sleeping patterns, noting to move him into a more proper position to avoid any aches that could appear as the light of the morning rises. Kyohei, at least, was leaning against the squishy cushions of the couch, sitting comfortably and in good posture; there was no worry that he would be whining from pains the next day. However, what surprised her a little was the remaining two.

Her best guess was that Shizuo and Izaya thought SCREW IT, and simply fell asleep on the plushy carpet (and probably AWAY from Shinra), but it their positions simply mystefied her so much, she couldn't help but say it outloud.

"Who knew they were cuddlers?"

**._.5. They kept secrets._.**

**xXx**

**Fail ending is fail.**

**Wrote this in one sitting. Was supposed to shower (a hot bath sounds nice right now), but I don't have the time for it. Gotta do it in the morning.**

**Reviews are appreciated**

**(1) The squiggly is the "infinity" sign, in otherwords, an '8' on its side.**

**EDIT (warning: is cheerful):**

**...-X-...**

**Shizuo: ****I kid you not, he was hands down based off my best friend since 6th grade, initials E.M.. She's such a math wiz that when my other friend and I get stuck, we kinda pathetically lean towards her and whine a little (This is gonna be a trait I will permanently stick to Shizu-chan, I mean, he HAS to be smart to have gotten admission into Raijin, right?). She's always willing to help, but absolutely despises geting stuck, and its been more than once that I've heard her mumble "Damn it!" when she doesn't understand. Plus, she has a mean serve in tennis (she can smash it so hard, these sharp round scuffs are completely visable throughout the court *is scared* and tennis balls are HARD!), which I kind of found in common with Shizu-chan's super strength. Hell, she has hit the ball so hard that she actually SNAPPED her racket strings! It's also pretty obvious that she's Captain too :'D**

**Izaya: ****That was probably me *laughs nervously* I whine a lot when I don't understand stuff, and I usually land around the middle when it comes to grades within my group. Although I always seem to top one subject and kinda suck at the rest (at least in my opinion), and I don't score too shabby in Government. In fact, I ended up with the highest test grade between my friends. But for my standards, I still suck at math ;3; My absolute best friend (described above) always has to help me.**

**Shinra: ****My other best friend since 9th grade, initials M.R., NO DOUBT XD Her little quirks are really adorable, and she's pretty smart! I think she's better at Econ than I am, for sure. Plus, if we ever get to talking, we NEVER shut up XD We play 1st doubles together, and I can very rarely play with anyone else as well as I can play with her. Reminds me very much of his [Shinra's] middle school years with Izaya (no doubt they were probably BFFs), which is why I wanted to shadow her a little as Shinra (who we both think is funky beyond anything in the world XDD)**

**Kadota: ****I don't have a third close friend (THAT antisocial, I know), but he was more than likely my other funky friend since 6th grade, initials Y.H., who we reunited with in 11th grade when we started tennis. She... well, you have to see her live for me to properly describe her XDD She's fantastic in English, and I wanted to get that little piece though Dota-chin 8D**


	2. Through Stalkers Pt1

***heaves for air* Finally got a break. After last updating, I had my SAT and midterms, which I just finished (AP MicroEcon midterms are absolutely terrifying!), and I decided on the next five, completely based off a recent happening, a bit of a project, and one little quirk between me and my two BFFs 8D Also decided to reveal who I got inspiration from to depict the personalities from the Rajin group at the end of each chapter. Since they vary a bit, I added Chapter 1's inspiration to the end of that one.**

**'Tis all about Chapter 1! Now, Chapter 2 has completely different inspirations, very little is based off of schoolwork this time, will be more humorous and contain a pretty good lot more of implications than last time (in my point of view, Shizaya is cannon, DEAL WITH IT.) Character inspiration will be explained at the end. Contains three OCs, which are more than likely not ever going to appear again. Just filler people, really.**

**Disclaimer: ...You're really going to ask me that?...**

**xXx**

Being a service-worker**(1)** has its perks. In Izaya's point of view, it was an hour of sitting around in your designated teacher's room, peforming the few errands of fetching paper and correcting a few assignments turned in by the first-years. And hey, you can even get to doing your homework while you're at it too! It was really pretty awesome, moreso that specific day because his assigned teacher took most of his classes to a fieldtrip (he didn't know the details), so the subsitute present asked nothing of him, simply mentioning that he might call on him for assistance on the few students that stayed behind. He's complied, and the instructor said no more, which worked in his favor as he continued reading one of the novels assigned for English. Just as he was about to flip page number 89 over, he heard some shifting from the locked doorhandle, followed by a clinking of keys which quickly notified him that his assigned teacher has come back.

The woman, a English-language instructor by the surname Hishikawa, smiled upon seeing her young aid, "Everything running smoothly?" she questioned, to which he nodded affirmitively, his eyes already back to the typed paragraph he left off in as noise flooded the classroom. Izaya promptly scowled, not needing to look up to know they were all first-years, and definitely not needing to look up to hear her announcing to the mass of kiddies that they would remain there until dismissal. _'Fantastic'_, he thought grumpily, no longer even able to enjoy the drama in the book as much. He could barely stand his own rambunctious sisters (Mairu was in her very own league when it came to noise level), and now he was stuck with three times the amount, now chattering from the lack of assignments and classwork. Just as he decided to start blocking out the mad talking, a boy just a few inches taller than him plopped down next to him with a smile.

Izaya stared as the other greeted him shortly. "What's your name?" the other asked, an emotion the raven-haired teenager couldn't quite name staining his eyes. "Uh, Izaya," he shortly replied, darting his eyes back to his book, expecting to read in peace.

Hell no.

"Izaya, hm? That's a nice name," the other hummed, "which year?" Izaya gave him a harsh glance that clearly said 'go away', but alas, it went unnoticed. "Third," he mumbled before adding "don't you have some friends over there?", neglecting to add the part to leave him the hell alone. Sure, he liked humans, but only their reactions and emotions interested him; the annoyingly cliche and gum-at-your-side ones were even worse in his book, and this kid seemed to fit that category. And speaking about that kid, did he just shift a little closer just now? The other boy continued smiling, brown eyes twinkling a bit in a way that made Izaya's stomach churn in discomfort. "Not really," he reported, leaning in a bit and only adding to his already frayed displeasure. His next sentence didn't really help either.

"You have a girlfriend?"

Izaya sputtered a little at that, scoffing soon afterwards, "Girlfriend? Hell no." he stubbornly retaliated. Him? A girlfriend? That was on par with the possibility of Shinra trying to stop experimenting on Shizuo (and believe him, the bandage on his best friend's face from the week prior is a testament to the fact that he isn't stopping either). The other boy frowned for a second, before the initial curiosity Izaya thought he had imprinted on his face melted, turning into multiple levels of devious intentions concentrated in those brilliant cocoa orbs which under any other circumstance would be deemed harmless if it wasn't for the shade his dark hair provided.

"Ah! So a boyfriend, then!"

He promptly choked.

_X.X_

In all honesty, Shinra was a bit baffled as he watched his middle school friend rush (read: RAN) out of his service class and quickly latch on to his sleeve, pulling him through the multitude of students who were too exiting school grounds. "Wah- Izaya, slow down, I think you're knocking people over!" the young doctor to be cried out, trying without avail to stop the other's movements. But alas, he may be older, but Izaya was without a doubt stronger.

Well damn.

And so Shinra allowed himself to be dragged out of school grounds, passing Kadota, only for Izaya to realize exactly who it was, turn around, get him by the sleeve, and resuming his flee. Kyohei was just as bewildered, and just as they made their way outside the main buildings he heaved his first question. "What the-" he started, only to be interrupted by the black-haired boy.

"I had to get out of there," he plainly explained as he quickly waved his hands, one of the straps of his schoolbag falling off his shoulder from the movement. "THAT'S IT?" Kyohei deadpanned, clearly disbelieving. Shinra might've had that same reaction if it wasn't for the slight fright in the other's eyes, the rather disorderly strands of inky hair that had no reason to be a mess coupled with the rushes of oxygen he was taking in (he's seen Izaya do those stupid laps for P.E. without heaving for a single breath), and the open zipper of his schoolbag, the tip of their assigned novel sticking out and half open, void of a bookmark. _'But, he's always neat,'_ Shinra thought, a bit confused, as Kadota demanded a proper explaination for the run through three school floors.

**._.6. They were suspicious._.**

It was already lunchtime when Shizuo stared at the rather humiliated look Izaya had plastered across his features, to the hesitant one on Kadota, and to his far left for a glimpse of Shinra's baffled expression, the only answer leaving his mouth being a very quiet and rather flat "Huh".

So this is what happens when he misses a day of school.

"What do you mean 'huh', that was scary, he wouldn't leave!" Izaya screeched, unable to even eat due to his aggravation of the situation. The four boys were in their usual spot at the solitary rooftop (no one had the guts to share it with them, giving them the free ability to yell), when Izaya confided in them of his situation the day prior, which was really him quietly mumbling "I think a guy hit on me yesterday", followed by the bleach-blond's uncontrollable crackling at his misfortune. Shinra pursed his lips a bit "Are you even sure it was him coming on to you?" he questioned, fiddling with his chopsticks a bit as Izaya twisted the hem of his shirt in shame. "Very," he pouted, clearly upset that they were not believing him, "this kid kept edging closer and asking all these questions, and at first, I thought "Well, fuck it", you know? Just let him know because the chances of crossing paths were probably zero and all, but then he started asking all these personal questions and I couldn't exactly punch him out the window either!"

Shizuo stopped drinking from his carton for a second at that comment, mentally shuddering at the thought of a pissy Izaya **(2)**(he's been witness before, and he can honestly say even he was scared.) He quickly cleared the image from his mind before speaking "Well, he's just a first-year, right?" he offered, "It really isn't like you'll see him much anyway, since you've never crossed him before either. Plus, its still the beginning of the year, he won't know your schedule or anything unless its a top grade stalker you're dealing with here." Izaya contimued pouting, emitting a very clearly unreassured noise as Kyohei put in his thoughts. "Y'know, that makes a lot of sense, what are the chances anyway? You'll probably never see him again, since you've never seen him before and he's obviously not a student in that service period of yours, right?" The other boy shrugged a little. "I guess so," he sighed, just as the bell echoed its familiar little tune, signaling that classes were once resuming.

**._.7. They thought they had it figured out._.**

Next was Advanced Placement Calculus.

Yes, that was the full name. Scary, right?

Luckily, nothing all that scary was currently going on in class. They were assigned a few worksheets from a larger packet the week prior, split into two masses, and one did odd and the other even for a presentation that was assigned that day. As they were split into two groups, the team members were allowed to work together and to Group B's relief (read: Shinra, Kyohei, and Izaya's relief), they got the more math-inclined student on their side (read: Shizuo).

"Gah! I need help!" Izaya whinned as Shinra followed with a few curses from across, pouting at his unfinished section of Worksheet 13 and gingerly poking Shizuo with the soft eraser tip of his pencil. "Number?" he simply questioned, having long since finished the first assignment and already half into the next. "Eleven," Izaya chirped, erasing his prior work to get the correct version written down, Shinra mimicking his action. "Oh, number eleven, kinda tricky," he started as Kyohei too, looked over for assistance.

Yeah, they sucked that bad.

But before he could begin his long-winded explaination, their instructor, a man in his fifties by the name Kawakami, tapped the whiteboard already littered with a multitude of "(dy/dx)" in a rainbow of colors. "Students, new addition to the class," he announced, but before he could properly introduce the new kid to the bunch, Izaya let out a strangled noise, quiet enough so that no outsider from their group could hear, but loud enough so that the other three whipped their heads back to stare at him.

"The fuck was that?" Shizuo deadpanned quietly as Izaya dropped his head to the table. "Shit, it's him!" he furiously whispered, the three simutaneously glancing at each other, then the new boy, then Izaya again, then the new boy once more in an attempt to process his words. "Seriously?" Kyohei asked, clearly not believing him, "He looks harmless." Shinra stared "You're talking as if he even posed danger in the first place," he pointed out, "but he looks oka- OH." Shizuo threw him an odd look, not even bothering to ask but instead following Shinra's eyes to where he was looking towards.

Oh.

That.

"He's looking at you like you're a piece of meat." Shizuo shortly clarified as Kadota nodded, "like a natural hunter from those nature shows." Izaya emitted a groan through his folded arms, "You're not making it easy!" he cried, just as Shinra shoved his elbow lightly. "Well, you might want to run, because it looks like he's coming this way!" he quickly whispered, as his middle school friend sat straight once more, traces of nervousness written across his face. "Say what?" he choked, his voice a bit shaken. And alas, the boy was approaching, followed by their instructor. Shizuo quickly detected the nervousness in the other's voice (it was kind of hard not to), and did something he can safely say years from now was perhaps his rashest course of action ever, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Without really thinking clearly (his excuse), he reached backwards for the familiar feel of his school sports jacket and promptly threw it over the practically hyperventilating boy, who stilled when the article of clothing landed perfectly over his shoulders just as the other kid arrived, his smile falling into an expression of shock, matching the other students', who once had their eyes on the new kid.

Not anymore.

**._.8. They fail._.**

"...pull whatever you can multiply both this and this by outside and place the rest in brackets."

"Place in brackets... like this?"

"Yeah, and then you distribute what's on the inside, this times this and then this times this, then just simplify it and combine like terms. But only within the brackets, ignore the rest for now. The brackets are the easier parts,and fortunately, that's the only thing you do anything to."

"Oh! Really? So this and this would be 5, and this minus this is 20x? Then what, I just drop eveything else down, no FOILing?"

"Nah, you just drop it down and look to see if it can be further simplified"

"Hmm, well, you can pull out 5, right? And make it 5(4x- 1), no?"

"Exactly, and that's it, just bring down the rest. You just have to remember u-prime and v-prime when it has exponents, that was the only real mistake."

"Right, power formula. Oh, I get it I get it!"

In Shinra's point of view, they were doing a spendid job of pretending that didn't just happen (probably because they refuse to look up). Sure, people were still staring, but Shizuo had stuttered, face completely red mind you, that it was only temporary until the other lay off. However, upon Shinra's amused quirk of an eyebrow, he realized how it came out before threatening not to help him any more in Calculus for the next three months if he did not shut up about the matter.

Shinra didn't even bother bringing up that he had not said a word; they had three major tests and a midterm, he still needed help.

**._.9. They knew how to keep each other quiet._.**

Kadota was soon called up by the opposing team to present, one of the harder problems from Worksheet 13 being assigned to him, and as he worked halfway into the problem, Izaya poked at his hand with the tip of his mechanical pencil. Shizuo didn't turn to face him, but the younger of the two knew he had his attention. "Thanks," he quietly mumbled, pretty sure he was beet red. "It's nothing," was the quiet response, before the taller one turned his head slightly, another question in mind, "why are you still wearing it, though, it's freaken hot in here!" Izaya blinked for a few seconds before shrugging, "I get cold easily," he admitted, "actually, I was already freezing before I put this on." he lifted his right hand, the dark-navy sleeve covering most of it, "I can't believe I'm saying this either, but I'm actually still pretty cold." Shizuo frowned, "No way," he mumbled, absent-mindedly taking the other's hand in his own, only to feel the abrupt onslaught of cool skin which nearly made him flinch.

"Oh shit, you are!" he deadpanned. Izaya's eyes widened for a second, "You're so warm!" he exclaimed in near awe, "how do you do it!" he cried out, taking some advantage to the situation and clasping the other one's hand with his left. "I don't really know," he shrugged, "always been like this, for as long as I can remember." He merely adjusted his grip on the smaller hand in his own, keeping it there until he could feel Izaya's hands warming up.

"Wow."

"You guys."

They froze at Shinra's very amused voice.

"Can you two stop holding hands so I can see the rest of number 37?"

Shizuo stared at him for a few seconds, whipping back a bit later, his face tinted red.

"That's it, no tutoring for you," he stubbornly stated, earning a look of absolute shock from Shinra.

"HUH?"

He had still yet to let go of the other's hand.

**._.10. They knew revenge._.**

**xXx**

**(1)Service-worker: I'm pretty sure everyone's aware, but if not, its when you hit 12th or sometimes even 11th grade, when your number of required classes decreases, many students have a free class slot, which is filled with the office class "Office Tech" or "Tutor", which is just being a service-worker to a teacher. You run errands for them like getting printer paper from the office, delivering papers to the staff boxes, correcting assignments, and if you are doing service at the office, you manage the phones, distribute student summons sheets, and stuff like that. For example, my friend E.M. is a service worker for the office, and she helped create the student home passes.**

**(2) There's a reason I identified Izaya as someone who would be scary if people made him genuinely mad. If he, by nature, is already a jackass who messes with people for his own pleasure because he thinks its fun seeing their emotions and very spirits crumble, imagine if he's livid? I think he'd be on par with Shizu-chan, if not more, and would inflict a lot of damage if he tried, which speaks a lot since the damage he already inflicts is him just letting things roll the way they are.**

**-X-**

**Shizuo: ****The taunting in Shizu-chan, hands down that was so me XD Also the hands thing, that is also me. For some weird reason, E.M. and M.R.'s hands are always really cold, and I am the warm one. Whenever I see them rubbing their hands together, I simply hold out my own, and they promptly latch on to them, always complaining "Why are you so warm?" Our conclusion: I'm a heater 8D The math part is still all E.M though =3=**

**Izaya: ****That was M.R. 8D COMPLETELY HER. The first part was something that actually happened to her, except instead of just thinking "Go away!" she was mentally crying at how the clock wouldn't move fast enough (it was 10 minutes before dismissal XD) Plus, she faked that she had a boyfriend, but from a rival school. The dude bought it XDD**

**Shinra: ****I was probably Shinra in the math part: too distracted XDD**

**Kadota: ****I couldn't really give him much of a part, because in Calculus, its just me, E.M., and R.M. DD8**

**-X-**

**Sorry, I split the last one in half, because I fail at a proper ending =3=**

**I can explain the jacket: in my AP classes, five of us play tennis, three Varsity football, two volleyball, five other cheerleaders, four softball, a multitude that cannot be fully counted for do cross-country and track-and-field, and I have most at least twice for classes. We're all athletes. DEAL. Plus, isn't giving a girl your jersey or sports jacket kinda suggestive? ;D Yeah, I SO WENT THERE. Made me feel all tingly inside XDD**

**Wow, you can tell a break has made me happier 8DD**

**xXx**

**Reviews are loved. If you have any experiences that you would like to have recorded here, do feel free to inform me! I'd like to get this up to at least 50 'Truths'.**


	3. Through Lockers

**Finished my ACT and SAT testings, and its the last week of school.**

**Yay!**

**But I should be REALLY studying for the three tests I KNOW I'm going to have.**

**P.S: I forgot about the existance of honorifics. Will be added now! And a few other quirks I'm pretty shocked no one mentioned.**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: Does not belong to me, only the experiences 8DD**

**xXx**

"About damn time!" Izaya grumpily pouted, scanning the aisles, "they sure took their sweet time assigning these stupid lockers!" His middle-school friend besides him laughed shortly.

"At least they already did it, my shoulder's starting to get sore with all the book-carrying. Ah- Kadota-kun, isn't this one yours?" he pointed at No. 693, one just second from the top. The other blinked, breaking off slightly from the other three to approach the small storage unit "Oh, yeah. Good, I got a height appropriate one, I hated having to crouch for the ones at floor-level." Shizuo scowled at the thought of the year prior, "So did I," he deadpanned, the expression melting off at seeing his assigned number plaque at one of the top units. "Huh, looks like its a good batch this year." Izaya, however, pouted again just six columns down. "No, I got a top one too, and I can barely see the numbers! Not fair school district!"

"Maybe it's your fault because you're so damn short," the bleach-blond idly teased, twisting the numbered knob to open the contraption. The younger of the two puckered his lips in annoyance. "Don't start Shizu-chan," he warned.

The doctor-to-be laughed again, enjoying his friends' actions, as he too located his new locker. _'No. 781, second from bottom,'_ he thought to himself a tiny bit disappointed, _'hey, at least its not at the bottom!'_ With this new thought in mind, Shinra twisted the lock to the corresponding numbers, until he heard a muffled click.

...

...

_'Why isn't this opening?'_

"Why isn't that opening?" Kadota questioned, zipping his bookbag open to deposit the books he didn't need for the rest of the day. Shinra shrugged, "I must've put the combination in incorrectly," he reasoned, trying once again.

And again.

And again.

...

And again.

...

And yet again.

**._.11. They knew it wasn't working._.**

"Maybe you're not doing it right," Izaya piped, standing on his toes to look over Shinra's shoulder, whose face was now plagued with a discontent scowl. "I have the stupid paper here, I've tried it ten different ways, the thing won't open!" he cried out, shoving the white square at the black-haired boy's chest, "you try it, see how easy it is!"

"Fine! Geeze, Shinra! So grumpy today!" he huffed, shoving the sleeve of the dark red cardigan he was wearing up to prevent obstruction to his fingers as he turned the lock, muttering the numbers aloud. "36-... go past zero to 06-, aaaand...39!"

_click_

...

...

"The fuck is wrong with this?"

"I told you!"

"Wait wait," Kyohei intervened, closing his locker with a gentle push, already well aware of how irritable they can get, "let me try." He pulled the combination from Izaya's grasp, holding it level to the lock as he spun the dial to the correct numbers until he too heard the stifled click behind the mechanism. Confident that he opened it properly, Kadota tugged on the lock, expecting it to open.

He was clearly baffled when it did not budge.

**._. 12. They tried to help._.**

"Yeah," Shizuo too frowned, giving Shinra's locker one last try, before turning to glance at his childhood friend "The lock's busted, no use trying anymore." Shinra huffed in annoyance, "I wait three weeks, and the one I get is messed up, what the hell!" Kadota shrugged a bit, almost as if saying 'well, what can you do?', "You're going to have to ask for another, right?"

" Yeah," he sulked, upset that he had to carry extra books compared to the other three, "I'm going to go get it replaced tomorrow morning," the look of disappointment was immediately wiped off and replaced with a glare as he gave the offending storage unit a kick, "Stupid locker from hell!" he angrily snapped, earning a few odd looks from the surrounding students.

**._. 13. They had to wait._.**

After watching him nervously try to explain the mysterious dent in the malfunctioning locker to the office administrator, Shizuo watched Shinra triumphantly exit the SLC **(1) **office, post-it note in hand. "Haha!" he cried triumphantly, "Locker No. 822, going this way!" he trailed down the hallway to his right, quickly scanning for the location of his new locker. Shizuo sighed. "Shinra, you dope, its 7 AM and you're already acting like you're off your rocker," he complained, but nevertheless followed as his overly happy friend made a beeline towards his new assigned storage. "Of course!" he chirped, "this is a load off my shoulder here, Shizuo-kun! Of course, you wouldn't realize it with that strength of yours. Speaking of which, can I-!"

"No."

"Mean," he frowned, reaching Locker No. 822 with a smile, "Finally!" he exhaled, ignoring the older boy's rather disturbed note of how much Shinra and Izaya acted alike as he spun the dial to the new combination. He finished imputing the last number, hearing a much clearer click this time, and pulled the locker door open.

It didn't move.

Shinra gawked as the bell rang and Shizuo burst out laughing, the hallways flooding with incoming students and classmates.

"Morning Shizu-chan, Shinra!" Izaya broke through the huddles of teenagers with little effort, stopping just before the two, not at all taking notice of the blond currently losing his marbles or his best friend's look of dismay "Is that your new locker, Shinra?"

**._. 14. They couldn't treat a situation delicately ._.**

Shinra had to wait another week, but in the end:

"I can't see the damn numbers! The lockers at the top SUCK!"

**._. 15. They learned to deal with it._.**

**xXx**

**(1) SLC: Since I'm mostly basing it off of my own school, I decided to add this detail. SLC stands for 'Small Learning Community', in other words, its an academy within the school, almost like a branch, which focuses and offers specific courses, some vocational where you can get actual certification. This is pretty common over on my side for high schools in the States. My SLC, personally, used to be in the Academy of Construction and Technology (EA), which offered Cosmetology, Pharmacy Clerk/Tech (I am actually a certified Clerk), and Electritian. Since we shut down, I've switched to the School of Business (BU), which offers Advanced Placement Psycology and Cooking. My classes start at 8 AM, but I decided to go with Middle School schedule at 7:15 AM.**

**xXx**

**In only two weeks, I was the lame-o who had to switch lockers three times. Yes, I like to make Shinra the butt-monkey, but in reality and in this case, I was the butt-monkey here. Oh woe to me! Izaya's saying the combination aloud is also something I do.**

**I won't include Shizaya for a good while (there's this angsty one-shot that I wanna give a go at, which will be stuffed to the brim with Shizaya, but I won't get to it and upload it until Christmas, most likely), so for now, its all humor. Also, dear Sango-maru gave me an idea based off of a ZeroChan comic, which I think I'm going to do after I decide to decrease the flux of humor. Thanks a bunch! **

**Reviews are loved and greatly appreciated!**


	4. Through English Pt1

**I AM SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW!**

**The wonderful Yen Press licensed Durarara!, and will bring Volume 1 to us January 2012. IN ENGLISH! 8DDD I am SO preordering that baby!**

**Well, sorry for the delay, but I am back in school now, and let me tell you: TROLOLOL, I love the advantage of a service period 8DDD If there are any mistakes, blame my IPod, 'kay? **

**Disclaimer: I am just a fan, nothing more, nothing less. Besides, if I was the true creator of Durarara!, wouldn't I have made Erika's dreams come true? Yes, but because Narita is in control, I cannot D'8**

**Okay, ramble ceases now.**

**On a hilarious note! I lost my locker combination, and had to get t retrieved from the Assistant Principal :'D Yeah, laugh at Arancar, now XDD**

**xXx**

They should have really expected it, what with being Japanese students of a higher educational reich, but alas, they did not believe the day their retched professor in English would have them tackle the most hated subject for any sane student would come. But yet it occurred in the form of white scrap sheets one late October day in their 2nd Year, the words 'PowerPoint Project' jumping out of the top in bold text.

**._. 16. They should know to expect the unexprected._.**

"Ew, 'Shakespearean Theatre'," Shinra wrinkled his nose as a sign of displeasure, his elementary school friend copying the gesture as the assignment was distributed at random, "I really don't like him, it's so dull."

"It is," he groaned, practically glaring holes into his prompt, "theatre? Just what do I care for theatre?" At this point, Shinra turned around in his seat, excited in finding a comrade in the hate for their current school project. "Ha, Shizuo-kun, you too? That's great!" A stare from the bleach-blond, however, quickly made him change his mind.

"Uh, I-I mean, that's terrible?"

Izaya's abrupt intrusion from Shinra's left quickly broke the slight tension. "Ne ne! What did you guys get?" he asked, leaning in towards his middle school best friend for a glimpse at the scrap the instructor had distributed. "Ah, it was Theatre, and you?"

"Conspiracies!" he chirped in response, gesturing over towards Kadota two seats forward, a cloud of gloom practically towering over his head, "Dotachin got Themes." Shizuo cocked a curious brow. "But he's better at English than the three of us combined." The raven-haired boy wagged a finger at him, "But that doesn't mean he LIKES it!" he reprimanded, to which Shinra laughed.

"You seem happy!" he pointed out, ignoring Shizuo's threat of chopping off his friend's index digit, "didn't think you would like work for English." The other boy gasped dramatically in response.

"Of course I would! It is only just one of the grandest playwrights ever! Imagine what dark mysteries are behind his name!" Izaya's eyes practically sparkled as Shizuo sweatdropped.

"You..." he uneasily muttered, "I can't help but feel you're going to destroy literature as we know it."

**._. 17. They felt uneasy._.**

"Wah, did you know that the people in England couldn't read, so they had to use colored flags for advertisement?"

"Why are you telling me now, write it down for later! Write it down!"

Shinra pouted at the blond, but did as instructed and jotted down the information in his notebook. He soon returned to flipping through the pages of the borrowed textbook once more for a few moments before he broke the silence again.

"Ah, and they didn't have toilets inside-" Shizuo promptly slammed his mechanical pencil down.

"Shinra-" was the only stern warning.

"I am aiding in our research!" he wailed, nearly causing the other to snap. "Random speaking isn't helping!" he barked back, some nearby students flinching at his harsh tone.

They decided to take a spot in the library, Shinra having convinced Shizuo that working together would ease the load on the both so they wouldn't have to slave over the assignment so roughly. It was a good idea, working together, but frankly, in the blond's opinion, he probably just wanted to get home to Celty a few hours earlier. The again, he was receiving help with the project, albeit in a rather noisy manner, but it would have to be something he had to deal with until the due date. _'Two weeks,'_ he thought to himself, _'I guess I can do that.'_

"Oh! And they used the surrounding fields outside as lavatories!"

Maybe not.

**._. 18. They felt irritated._.**

"Wah, Dotachin! You look pooped!" Izaya cried one day from across the classroom. The month had reared to November, and the due date was set in four days, to which most students in their class were hurrying to meet.

"'Pooped'?" Kadota looked perfectly puzzled as he took his seat,"what an odd choice of words, Izaya." The raven-haired boy simply shrugged for a moment before continuing, "You're finished, ne?"

"Sort of," he admitted, "Just have to put it in an order that makes sense, and you guys?"'

"Just have to organize what I have to say," Shizuo replied, while Shinra nodded from just in front of him. "And you, Izaya-kun?" the doctor-to-be questioned, "what do you have left?"

"Oh I finished!"

Shinra's jaw promptly dropped, the only other response from the other two being a mere raise of the brow.

"S-say wha-?" he unintelligently stuttered, earning a slight giggle from the other.

"Done! Actually, I finished about three days ago, but- you know what, I'll tell you later!" And just in that instant, their instructor walked in, calling for the class to quiet down. Izaya turned in his seat, propping a text book open and ignoring Shinra's mild squeak of protest.

"That's so embarrasing," Shizuo slumped in his seat, he too ignoring the boy in front of him as he gawked very much like a fish out of water, flipping open to the current classwork like the surrounding students.

**._. 19. They felt defeated._.**

"Wahh! Did you know the Globe Theatre set on fire during a preformance of Henry the Eighth?"

"Shinra, SHUT UP!"

**._. 20. They were getting nowhere._.**

**xXx**

**Inspired by a project I did last year for AP English Language, but I omitted the part where my classmates booed because the supposed 'smart girls' were all in he same group :'D Which was myself, E.M, M.R, and two others, M.O and T.A (lol, bragging much? XD) We were assigned 'Theatre', but it was pretty fun! The above facts are true from what I remember about my research. By the way, this will have a secondary part, but you'll have to wait for that~!**

**I also read on TV Tropes that Shinra has a mile-long masochistic streak, and because of that, he doesn't see jaw dislocation as a barrier to his friendship with Shizuo 8DDD I thought it was so hilarious, I had to emulate it a bit, since it's been all Shizuo and Izaya lately XD And pooped is a correct term, it means exhausted; I just think Izaya is childish enough to use it :'D**

**I have been speaking a lot with fellow writer Kiyoumi (you are made of awesome, dear, like seriously), and I am seriously considering adding a bit of actual Shizaya, not just imply it, as fun as that is. Won't be hardcore sucking face either, but it'll be there; what do you guys think? Whether it is a yes or no will be no effect on me, really, but it is after all for you guys' pleasure~ ;D**

**Next is something that Kiyoumi brought up and I just HAD TO DO 8DD**

**Reviews are loved! Favs are adored! Flames will be used to heat the water for cup noodles! (OMG that is SO my new sig!)**


	5. Through Stalkers Pt2

**Wow, another update within the same month! And it is actually longer than the previous ones! Le gasp~**

**Anyway, the lovely Kiyoumi filled two mini-drabbles for me, so I suggest you go read them! They're so cute~! *squees* Stories are called 'The Blame Game' and 'Trouble With Sweets', if you haven't seen them, go read, and enjoy!**

**Also, chapter is dedicated to Kiyoumi, because she's been kicking me out of both my writer's block and my artist's block as of late. Like seriously, thank you dear! You are so my sister from another mister! *gets shot***

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**xXx**

It was almost ridiculous just how many eyes Izaya unintentionally turned.

Male eyes, mind you.

Since they even began as First-Years, Kadota has always noticed how many upperclassmen did doubletakes when Izaya passed alone. Sure, at first, it was quite a bit (for a guy), but by their 3rd year, a lot of them were just plain staring. It significantly diminished when Izaya started wearing Shizuo's borrowed sports jacket, but the effect wasn't really there unless the blond was somewhere within 5-feet radius of the raven, which was luckily for most, if not all, of the eight-hour schoolday.

Suddenly, Kyohei thanked Kami-sama for them having the same classes together.

Of course, the raven had long since returned the dark-blue sports jacket (Kadota remembered seeing it on Shizuo again two weeks later), and while many ceased admiring from far out of fear of the possibility of a jealous ramage their way, the same First-Year was one of the few who would not stop from oogling at a distance. Let it be in the mornings when Izaya had to stand on his toes to properly input his locker combination, or stalking from the hallway during World Government and Politics, where their teacher kept the door open during lectures, or as they went to lunch, he was always staring eerily from the multitude of students emerging from their class for the break. Kadota would have not thought much about it, until the day when the older boy, in taking off his hoodie during one of those odd mornings that shifted from frosty cold to a mild warmth, accidentally swept up his school shirt in the motion, revealing a few inches of his flat abdomen (it also didn't help that Izaya also got stuck with his arms up either, and had to sit there for Shinra to free him because Shizuo was too busy making fun of how stupid he looked), but if his eyesight did not fail him (and he dearly hoped it did), he could've sworn the First-Year was drooling at the sight.

It was getting kinda creepy now.

**._. 21. They had enough ._.**

"Eh? What are you talking about, Dotachin?"

Kadota suddenly felt like he was talking to a brick wall.

"For an Advanced Placement kid, you're kind of dense," he deadpanned, earning an upset pout from the other as the four had lunch on the roof again. "The First-Year we though wasn't a First-Year but really was in the end, that one. He's kinda been leering at you for a while." Izaya released a 'pfft' in amusement. "Aww, are you worried Dotachin?" was the teasing reply, "I'm sure its just one of those dumb little fixations, kids are always having those," he waved his hand to emphasize his little interest in the situation, popping open the lid to his bento box instead.

"Well, I think it's gone on to far for just a fixation, right?" Shinra offered, shoving some rice into his mouth and taking a few moments to swallow, "I've seen the kid, he kinda stares for a really long time," he was quiet for a few seconds before adding, "A really long time! But then again, it's kind of your fault, Izaya."

"Ha?" the raven-haired boy just across him cocked a slim brow in confusion, "why my fault?"

His middle-school friend shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, let's face it," he put down his chopsticks, "you're kinda pretty."

**._. 22. They had to face the facts._.**

Shizuo, who had been quiet listening to the exchange up until this point as he ate his lunch, choked rather violently.

The other two joined him shortly.

"HUH?" Izaya sputtered, growing a flushed red at Shinra's sudden statement, as Kadota shook his head in disbelief. The doctor-to-be frowned. "What?" he demanded, "you're acting like that thought has never crossed you guys' minds!"

"Because it HASN'T!" the blond cried, mostly flustered, but still a bit repulsed that it even crossed Shinra's mind. The brown-haired boy frowned, "But it's true! Kadota, isn't Izaya pretty? Am I wrong to think this?"

"Hah?" At this, the three whipped to look at him, and with Shizuo's curious hazel, Shinra's demanding but sure gaze, and Izaya's shimmery crimson, practically pleading him to say no. He blinked once before looking up and down his petit friend; fluffly black hair, fair complexion, elongated lashes, small form.. was he really?

And Izaya released a distressed cry when Kadota paled considerably and procceded to start shoveling rice into his mouth.

**._. 23. They didn't like to admit the truth ._.  
><strong>"Aww, come on Izaya, don't be like that!" Shinra whined, trailing after his best friend on their way back to class as Shizuo and Kadota stayed to watch from behind. Izaya was a good six feet in front of them, textbooks for Economics firmly bounded to his chest by his tightly wound arms, and Shinra's comment only encouraged him to walk faster, puffing his cheeks in childish anger. "I meant it to be a compliment!"

"Calling me 'pretty' isn't a compliment, Shinra!" he took this second to snap at him, turning with a glare to properly state him point, turning sharply at one of the bends leading to their next class, only to abruptly rebound backwards. Having been rushing behind him, Shinra easily caught him by the shoulders before he fully tipped backwards.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, adding a bit of pressure to the younger boy's shoulders as his other two friends sped up to them, "you oka-"

"Ah, Izaya-kun!"

Said raven-haired boy froze.

"Uh, o-oh," he stuttered, quickly realizing who it was, but not recalling his name, "i-it's you. U-um, hi? How's t-things?" Izaya mentally slapped himself for his polite tendencies, _'Damn it, and my voice is giving him another idea!'_. Just as predicted, the other boy, the First-Year Kadota was talking about earlier, smiled brightly at the notion of Izaya's attention, as small as it was, "Fine, ah! Looks like you dropped your book," here, the younger male crouched down to sweep up the hardbound book in one graceful motion, presenting it to him like the gift of gorgeous gold to the person of his affections.

Izaya nearly retched.

"Thanks," he forced, along with a weak upturn of the mouth, which Shinra easily noticed with a tint of shock. Has someone whose existance makes THE Orihara Izaya's stomach churn finally appear? He quickly turned to share this epiphany with Shizuo and Kadota via facial expression, both who looked back at him dumbfoundedly. Meanwhile, the First-Year took a sweeping stride forward, a few inches too close for Izaya's personal comfort, before gingerly leaning towards him. He was close enough for the raven to feel the faint warm of his breath scorch his cheeks, and a cold sweat quickly broke out throughout his body, his reflexes nearly shoving the offending individual if it weren't for some of the teachers passing along with the students.

His next words, however, stunned him.

"I'd like to talk for a bit, is that all right Izaya-kun?" his voice was practically ladled with a sickening honey, but before he could say a word, a pair of heavy arms slung themselves across his shoulders. Izaya jumped in surprise, quickly flicking his gaze upwards to watch sight of kadota to his left, and Shizuo to his right. Before he could question his two companion's close proximity, Kyohei beat him to it.

"Sorry," he started, "can't let you do that." The First-Year rather visably scowled in clear distaste, not the least threatened by the order coming from the upperclassman. "Why?" he easily demanded, to which Shizuo rather obviously swallowed harshly, quickly turning to meet Kadota's steady eyes, encouraging him to finish his sentence. "B-because," he uneasily began, before resuming, his voice much clearer, "didn't you know? Izaya's ours."

Said raven was floored.

**._. 24. They decided to deal with it as a 'team'._.**

The younger student's eyes widened considerably at this piece of information. "Aa? So what, you're saying you rotate him around or something?"

"Precisely," came Kyohei's clipped tone, ignoring the jerk he felt go through Izaya's body as the older boy choked, "we're not all that fond of letting just anyone around, y'know?" The other looked thoughtful for a second, attractive brown eyes flickering between the brunet, the tall bleach-blond to his love's right, and the boy with the glasses, who decided it would be the right time to wrap his arms around the remaining boy's abdomen. A wicked smile suddenly spread across his face, quickly switching into the friendly state many think of him of being. "Well, since there's three, I don't imagine another would be an issue, right?"

"Ha?" came Shizuo's shocked stutter, but due to the firm knit his brow had formerly been, it looked as if he had been insulted instead. Before Kadota could steer the conversation away from that, Shinra decided that would be the perfect time to pop out behind his paling friend, an expectant hand extended. "Of course!" he cooed, "just need your name and medical record, though! Can't be fooling around without knowing what can happen, ya?" Kadota's eyes widened at his words, and the future debt-collector was quick to blush at his choice of diction. Izaya was no different.

"S-Shinra!" he cried, feeling the heat rush up his face. The doctor-to-be simply patted his best friends cheek in an overly friendly way. To many outside their four-person circle, it looked like an act of affection from Shinra, but with years of school together, Izaya did not fail to catch the look in his eye that said that there was something else to it.

The late bell rang mere miliseconds afterwards.

X_x_X

"Wah! I didn't think he'll actually do it!" Shinra laughed early the next morning in English. He was straightening the file they now knew belonged to a ''Atsushi F. Noa", a few minutes before the teacher was to arrive, the other three flocked around him like usual. Kadota rubbed the bridge of his nose, "It went too far," he chastised, "I honestly didn't expect him to say that, though." Shizuo nodded slightly in agreement, to which Shinra laughed once more, "haha, but hey, it worked out, right?" Here, he reached out to pat his particularly quiet best friend's shoulder, "He must really like you Izay-guh!" he choked as Izaya delivered a particularly strong punch to his gut, startling the other two.

"I can't believe you did that!" Izaya shrieked, his face reddened with anger, practically shaking in his livid state. Shizuo promptly gawked at the shortest boy's abrupt display of upfront violence, hearing Kadota suck in a gulp of air to his left . "I felt that," was the brunet's dazed comment as the bleach-blond slowly nodded in agreement.

**._. 25. They used bait._.**

**xXx**

**Since this has never happened to anyone I know, here was my inspiration, spoken by Kiyoumi in a PM:**

**"WHY U SO PURDY IZAYA?", they should all just pretend to be Izaya's boyfriends!, and "Oh, since you have three guys, another one shouldn't be an issue, right?"**

**...That's what did it.**

**And so the Saga of the Stalker continues 8DD**

**As you can probably tell, the Stalker issue is exclusive to the Third-Year, okay? The rest is in an unknown mix of the First and Second (Even **I** am not so sure :'D) I'm trying to make the stalker sound attractive and charming, but creepy on the inside; is it working, anyone?**

**Well, I'm not getting many reviews, so I will assume two things: I suck, and I will continuously stay at this level and just wing it unless someone points out what I can do to improve (I'm an Advanced Placement English Literature student, damn it, I HAVE TO GET BETTER AT WRITING!) So please do review! I really want to know if I am any good, and this is not saying that I just want the little Review button to increase in number; do let me know! I won't stop updating because "Oh, I don't have all that many reviews", I do want to know how I'm doing.**

**-xXx-  
>Like I said! Reviews are loved! Favs are adored! Flames will be used to heat water for cup noodles! (I LOVE THIS SIG!)<strong>


	6. Through New Additions

**Lol, I complain once, and I get an onslaught of feedback :D Thank you so much! Hilarious that you guys said that I had few errors, because I just got back a present-tense assignment in A.P. Lit, and lets just say I got the lowest score possible :'D **

**But anyway, next chapter is here! I'm having finals this week (it is soo huge, my entire school is shifting to FINALS SCHEDULE Thursday and Friday D': Two hour periods, three classes per day DX) So I gotta study! HARDCORE! And remember the stress I was complaining about in the first chapter? It's coming back, pretty hard to the point I'm actually losing weight... so expect more updates XD Plus, it is a time of celebration, for I just received my very first University Acceptance letter~! 8DD And it is to University of California Northridge too! *dances* **

**And I am rewatching the clips I recorded from the DRRR! Panel last year, and LOL the English cast XDD I forgot how crazy they are, especially Yuri Lowenthal and Steven Blum (they made the idea of KadotaxShinra POSSIBLE *gets shot*) XDDD AND CRISPIN FREEMAN- *foams at mouth* He effectively fed the Shizaya fandom WITHOUT Johnny Yong Bosch needing to be there XDDDDD**

**Warning: May or may not be a spoiler, depending if you guys have been shifting through the DRRR! light novel translations. If it is a spoiler, I'm sorry, but I just HAD to do this XDD And one last warning:**

**There will be Butt-Monkey XDD**

**Enjoy!**

**xXx**

Compared to his two nearly hyperactive friends, Shinra is unusually levelheaded. Sure, most of the time, he spent spazzing about Celty and trying to experiment on Shizuo, but other than that, the aspiring doctor was within his range of calm. It was a breath of fresh air, especially for someone like Kadota, who was a daily witness to desks inbedding into walls and individual switchblade razors making their way through objects and things meant to stay in one whole piece... or away from sharp objects at all. Yes, Shinra was, in a way, his comrade in the midst of chaos.

Sometimes.

Now, the other three were used to his whiny fits, that was a given. However, they never expected a new one to sprout one day after school at his abode with the Headless Rider. The housephone had rung, to which Shinra jumped up to get it before the shill noise died out, muttering a few words of greeting when he picked up. His reaction, however, will forever be inprinted in his memory.

"HAAAH?"

Izaya, who has been on the verge of ending the last of some homework with a slight flourish of writing, jumped, his pen slipping from his hand and bouncing across the coffee table to strike Shizuo in the face at the same moment Shinra's face contorted into confusion.

"W-well of course I'm fine, but- huh? You- wait, WHAT?"

Izaya gawked, raising his hands in sincere apology, but was promptly drowned out as Shinra continued his conversation over the phone. "A-ah? Wait wait! Y-you mean tonight? ALREADY? It's such short notice-! B-but- hey, HEY! Did you just hang up?" his brows furrowed all of a sudden, pulling the cordless phone away from his ear and within his perpherical vision, shaking it rather roughly as if it would make the caller come back, "Did you- hello? HELLO?" the noise of the dead line echoed loudly thoughout the complex.

**._. 26. They were startled._.**

"Something wrong, Shinra?" Kadota carefully questioned as the other boy slowly returned to his prior seat at the four-sided table. They had been doing a few worksheets for Chemistry in the rather spacy living room when Shinra received the call, and had nearly been finished too. Shinra stiffly shook his head no. "No, j-just my dad."

Shizuo promptly proceeded to snap his pencil in shock. Izaya stared at his best friend.

"Your dad?" he slowly started, to which Shinra slowly nodded with a weak smile, "He's visiting tonight."

Shizuo's eyes widened. "Tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Your dad," Izaya repeated as if he hadn't heard the first time.

"He's coming here?"

"Yes."

A silence befell the room, and for once, Kadota was lost.

**._. 27. They felt an uneasy premonition._.**

And imagine his surprise when Shinra came running into class the next morning, to which Izaya cocked a curious brow. "Ah, Shinra. What's with yo- gyaah!" he shrieked as his middle-school friend just about jumped him. "Izaya, it's terrible!" he cried comical tears as the raven-haired boy tried in vain to peel his arms off. "What the hell, off Shinra!" Izaya commanded, but before he could continue further berating him, Shinra blurted out his bane of torment. "My dad~" he wailed, to which Izaya angrily pouted, "what about him?" he demanded, wincing a bit when the other merely squeezed harder, shaking the person in his arms as he sobbed louder without displaying signs of ever letting go. Kadota soon paled.

"Sh-Shinra-" Shizuo soon joined him.

"O-oi, Shinra!"

"It's horrible, hooorrribble~!" he continued crying, no longer even realizing that he was getting too loud and the rest of his classmates were staring.

"Shinra!"

"What?" he distressed, not turning to look at his friends as he continued his fit.

"He's not even conscious anymore, you idiot! "

"Ah-" the brown-haired boy ceased his iron-grip actions with a little gasp of surprise, finally setting his attention on his best friend, whose face was drained of color and body limp. Huh, no wonder he suddenly felt heavy. But still-

"Izaya? Hey, Izaya?" he gave the younger boy a few gentle shakes.

"HE'S NOT GOING TO RESPOND IDIOT!"

**._. 28. They knew it was futile._.**

Upon the discovery of an unconscious student (and a hysterical one), their instructor pardoned Shizuo and Kadota from the days lesson to take the two boys to the infirmary. Kadota hefted a limp Izaya over his shoulder, as Shizuo dragged a hyperventilating Shinra along just a step behind him, receiving rather odd looks from tardy students and hall monitors roaming the floor.

Now, Izaya was safely tucked into one of the cots in the white-walled room. The nurse had said he was going to be fine just before she stepped out for a moment. Shinra, however, sat at a stool just by Izaya's bedside, munching like crazy at some sugar-encrusted soft candy the nurse has given him. "For his nervousness," she has explained with a mild shrug.

"So?" Kyohei started, shifting his weight from one foot to the next, "you were suffocating Izaya to death, why?" The brown-haired boy gulped nervously for a second, ceasing his consumption of the sweet snacks. "Well," he uneasily started, "you guys know how I said that my dad was visiting, right?" Shizuo scoffed a bit from the foot of the blanketed cot. "You DID make a huge scene about it, kind of hard NOT to take notice." Shinra pouted at his childhood friend, but nevertheless continued with a sigh, "well, he dropped one hell of a bombshell on me," he chuckled humorlessly. Kadota raised a brow, prompting him to continue.

"Y'see, I just met my new step-mom."

**._. 29. They were stupefied._.**

Kyohei's eyes widened, mirroring the gesture the bleach-blond was quickly developing.

"S-say what?" Shizuo weakly stuttered, confusion written across his face as Shinra slowly nodded. "Aah," he confirmed, looking rather disturbed, "she herself doesn't look so bad, but what she says-" here, he groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Ha? Like what?" the other shook his head, deeming it too horrifying to recall. "Not telling!" he voiced, it is just awful! And Celty was trying to make me get along with her too~" more comical tears poured down his face as he remembered his love's brief betrayal, to which Shizuo deemed with a calm scoff of 'idiot' for the third time that morning. Shinra whinned.

From the bed, Izaya abruptly moaned awake, groggily rolling over to face his surprised best friend.

"What about a step-mom, now?"

-x-X-x-

When Shinra arrived home, he was bombarded with a gleeful shriek.

"Shinra welcome! We experiment now, ok?," Emilia grinned widely, "Shingen say you have weird and strong comrade, yes? Call for experiment now!" she tried to shove the housephone into his startled palm. Shinra squeaked, backing up and quickly making his way back out with a slam of the door and a shout over his shoulder.

"I-I'm going to Izaya's for a few days!"

**._. 30. They avoided the dilemma._.**

**xXx**

**Sugary candy can actually help with nerves. I was given some when I had to get shots several years back :'D *is a wimp***

**I love writing from Dotachin's point of view 8DD I make him sound sane, makes the other three sound absolutely crazy XDD But anyway, after learning that Shinra in fact has a step-mom, I immediately imagined one of those senarios where the child completely rejects her XDD I just HAD TO! Plus, I'm assuming Kadota doesn't know Shingen, with Izaya and Shizuo already being familiar with the guy , what with having gone to the same elementary and middle school respectively with Shinra. Since Dotachin technically joined our favorite three in highschool, I'm thinking it would go down like this.**

**Stalker Chapters aren't coming back for a few weeks, I'm planning them out right now, and let me tell you, then it will be STALKER GALORE XD**

**Reviews are greatly loved! Favs are very much adored! Flames will go towards the production of cup noodles~!**


	7. Through Stalkers Pt 3

**So I lied.**

**But really now, who DIDN'T want this to come up? 8D Enjoy~!**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, but Kiyoumi and I pretty much jointly own the Stalker Series 8DD**

**xXx**

_'It's been one, two, th- let's just call it several days,"_ Kadota absentmindedly counted off at his fingers during lunch for what seemed like the fifth time that day.

And Izaya still refuses to speak properly with Shinra.

If it wasn't for the circumstances, Kyohei would've laughed at the odd and abrupt distance between his two friends. It was kind of ridiculous, really, what with Izaya silently seething and Shinra being overbearing and apologetic in his own way (meaning he wasn't doing a very good job at it). But of course, they just got themselved entwined in a pretty huge and complicated arrangement, so he kept his mouth shut in favor of watching the doctor-to-be pester the younger raven about calling off the silent treatment he appeared to be favoring.

"Izaya, you're not mad, are you?" Shinra childishly prodded Izaya's cheek with his own, meaning no harm as he moved his friend to and fro, "I mean, it kinda was for your own good and all, and- ACK!" The sanguine-eyed boy promptly smacked him in the face with the spine of one of his workbooks, rising as he did so from their usual break area.

"I'm going to the library," he simply tossed over his shoulder, pulling his schoolbag along as he exited. Kadota gave a slight nod of acknowledgement as Shinra whined.

"Wahh, Izaya hates me~" Shizuo scoffed at his childhood friend. "Well, no shit he does," he stated, because really, he had every right to.

Shizuo didn't know what the rest of the world might react to the idea, but he himself sure as hell wouldn't like it if someone else made an instant harem for him like that... although technically, he's kinda part of this one anyway... and he also started it with Kadota, so that would make him-

...Shizuo suddenly felt a sliver of guilt.

**._. 31. They knew it was wrong._.**

Izaya looked both ways as he bounded down the stairs leading to the library on the second floor, not wishing to repeat the same mistake. He had yet to see Atsushi once again, but he didn't want to risk it, especially moreso now since he didn't have the other three with him like the two prior ocassions. He shivered at the mere thought of being stuck with the guy by himself, checked both ways once more, and briskly walked to the library entrance, intent on getting his mind off of this mess.

The Raijin Academy Library was no small room. It was the size of several classrooms put together, perhaps something akin to the school rooftop, if not larger. Upon entering, several tables littered the area between the entrance and the main desk, chairs drawn up at the larger ones where more students populated as they enjoyed their breaktime with their friends. Beyond the sitting area just ahead, began the labyrinth of books. Built-in shelves housed a small portion of the spined literature, the rest organized into a curling maze around the vast room which often broke into two or more directions, a definite change from the typical elongated rows found everywhere else. Multitudes of orderly genres formed rows upon rows, all neat and in good condition, ready for the next reader, and if it wasn't for the years he has spent studying here, Izaya was sure he would have long since become dizzy from the complexity.

Now, it was more of a comfort. The raven-haired boy had always been fond of libraries for theit serene enviornment, despite the fact that he mostly came in whenever he had a major exam within a week or so. But today, he came for some peace from Atsushi, quiet from his best friend, and a book that has been piquing his interest as of late.

"Ara~ where could it be," he spoke quietly as he began to lose himself within the twisted rows, scanning the spines by author surnames. Most were japanese authors he knew very well, but that day, he was looking for a translated novel. "Larivey, ," he slowly read off their names as he approached, "Tanabe, Tieck, Tsuji, Tsutsui, Uchida-" Izaya continued walking, slowing his pace.

"Uhland, Usui, Van der Kiste, Vipont, Watanabe, Walker- ah!" he finally found the author, smiling a little at the prospect of locating the novel. He frowned shortly afterwards, upon realizing that his fingers only barely ghosted over the spine.

_'Damn my height,'_ he mentally cursed, standing on his toes for several moments in a vain attempt to reach it.

And just like that, a slender hand came into his view, easily swiping the book he was reaching for off the shelf.

Izaya's eyes widened in surprise, immediately turning to gaze at the intrusive person, only to have the novel being offered to him.

"Here,"

"..."

"You were reaching for this, right?"

It was a taller boy, probably just a bit under Shizuo or Kadota's height now that Izaya got a good look at him. He was slim and had fair skin, donning the usual Raijin uniform, with dark brunet, nearly inky like his own, hair framing his face. His eyes were sharp and serene, but what really took Izaya back was the color of those orbs. The other boy blinked amethyst eyes in confusion, looking down at the book in hand. "What? This wasn't the one you wanted?" he asked, ready to put it back.

"N-no," Izaya cursed his stutter without averting his gaze. He didn't recall ever seeing someone like him. "That's the one, thank you."

"Oh, good," a smile, "Oscar Wilde, he's a good author," the other idly commented, delivering the book to the shorter male, "and that's a good novel too. I'm sure you'll enjoy it-"

"Have I- seen you here before?" Izaya questioned, cutting the taller student off. "Ah, no. I transfered over recently."

"Oh," Well that explained it, no wonder Izaya didn't remember anyone with his features, "what's your name?"

"M-my name?" the dark-haired boy faltered, looking a bit flustered at the sudden question. "Yes, your name," the other clarified, wondering what the problem was with simply telling another student what your parents christened you with. He cleared his throat briefly, almost shyly averting those crystal-like violets for a few brief moments before regaining his composure.

"I-It's Maxwell," he held a hand out in greeting, "Maxwell Sinclair."

**._. 32. They knew it had to get better._.**

"What the hell kind of name is THAT?" Shizuo looked stupefied. It was still several minutes before the teacher came back from break, so the students were just lounging about before class officially started and they had to go back to their seats. Kadota looked thoughful, "It's in the English language, clearly," he asserted, "but it could be English itself or American, really. And he did what now?" Izaya sighed.

"He got a book for me," the raven waved the novel in his hands for emphasis, "it was on the top shelf, and he brought it down because I couldn't reach, end of story." Shinra popped in from his right, "Y'sure about that? 'Cause you know what happened with the last guy you made idle talk with!" Izaya stared at the brunet for a few moments, keeping his mouth shut as he returned to the pages of his book with a shiver.

"I'm still not talking to you," he scowled as Shinra whinned. "But Izaya~" he wailed, "I've been reading up on this Atsushi guy from the file he gave me, and damn is he impressive!"

Shizuo's stare, Kadota's grimace, and Izaya's repulsed expression said it all. The doctor-to-be quickly flushed.

"N-not like that! I mean his background, look!" Shinra slapped the folder open on Izaya's desk as the other two quickly huddled about.

"Wow, he's French?" Kadota released a low whistle, "what does the 'F' stand for?"

"It stands for 'Francis' apparently," Shizuo read outloud, "born in Corsica, France on February 24, year 1989. Oh, but the surname is different for his mother." Izaya leaned in for a closer look. "You're right! And Corsica, there's gang syndicates there! Imagine that!" he joked, forgetting his muteness towards Shinra and taking no notice of the abrupt take-off of an unnamed individual just beyond the half-opened classroom doors.

**._. 33. They were aware it could get worse._.**

People were shoved aside as someone bolted through the hallways. Teachers yelled at students to get back in class, paying no heed to the runner, or even taking notice, really. Some did glance up, however, and deemed it to be a mere trick of the light.

After all, ordinary people did not move in blurry stealth.

That was only in movies, right?

The person quickly broke beyond the school building, retreating instantaneously towards the back near the gates that cut the athletic areas from the rest of Raijin's grounds. Other student could be seen from the distance, getting ready to run the day's laps while the rest were conversing with friends. The remaining ways were vacant, so looking both ways for good measure, they slipped a slim black cellular device out, quickly dialed, and waited.

It took two rings for the other to respond.

"Make this good," the voice gruffly snapped.

"I believe I have found a connection."

"...Sure about that?"

"Yes. A person, to be specific, possibly connected to the blood relative of the man causing ruckus in Unione Corse. I'm not too sure how, but it is the only lead I have now and it has been too long. May I act on it, sir?" The other line was silent for a few moments.

"Take what is needed to complete your assignment and by any method needed, understood?"

"Yes, sir,"

"And one more thing-"

"A-ah, yes?"

"_Bonne Nuit_"

"...Yes, sir."

**._. 34 They didn't think it would escalate._.**

Shinra wailed once more for what seemed like the thousandth time that day as they made their way home.

But Kadota didn't really know, he lost count a long time ago.

"See you tomorrow," he threw a hand up in goodbye, walking his own direction as Shinra briefly ceased pestering Izaya to shout a farewell before resuming his work. Izaya only walked faster, leaving Kyohei to eye Shizuo with a look that clearly said 'Don't let Izaya kill him'. Shizuo rather visably cringed, having caught the silent message.

"Do I have to?" he asked outloud, already knowing that the answer was yes without needing to hear it as the other departed. The blond focused his attention on the two just a few feet forward. Izaya looked like he might hit Shinra again, which means Shinra would wail once more. AT HIM. And if he complained that the raven was not paying attention to him ONE. MORE. TIME., Shizuo could feel his brow twitch at the thought.

"Gya!" Shinra choked as his childhood friend abruptly took ahold of him and began to drag him towards an opposite direction. "Shizuo, what are you doing?" he looked perfectly bewildered as the bleach-blond stopped momentarily.

"Going the long way," he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He bid Izaya a proper goodbye, taking the other with him and leaving Izaya just about alone in the unusually vacant streets of Ikebukuro. He blinked owishly for a few moments, a bit stupefied.

Huh.

Looks like he owes Shizuo a favor.

Izaya took the first opportunity away from his hyperactive friend to walk peacefully back home, savoring the silence as he turned into his block, passing through one of the alleys that commonly littered the district. The quiet atmosphere was continuous as he neared his house, already thinking of what to make for his sisters who were without a doubt awaiting his arrival.

Until something abruptly grabbed him by the collar of his school clothes, jerking him back into the alley's confines just when he was about to step out.

The intrusive movement thoroughly startled Izaya, to the point that he completely forgot about the switchblade he had recently began keeping with him on a daily basis as two hands took ahold of his shirt. Before he could protest the rough treatment, however, his attacker spoke, shocking him with the youth in his voice and the Raijin uniform he donned.

"Tell me everything you know."

"H-huh?" Izaya was more confused above anything else.

"Start talking!" the other demanded, dark locks sweeping across sharp and once-serene eyes, "you, the plans your Patron has for Unione Corse, and everything on that Atsushi Noa!"

At that, the other was floored for two reasons.

One was why he was being interrogated from thin air.

"What are you talking about? I don't know-"

"STOP LYING! I've seen you discussing his personal background, so spill, or else-" the other drew a hand towards the weapon holster he did not notice he possessed.

And two..

"I will use force, understood?" Violet eyes gleamed in murderous intent.

Was why it was the boy who he met today at the library.

"Last chance, Orihara-san," Maxwell Sinclair threatened, pressing the cool barrel to Izaya's abdomen.

It didn't make any sense

**._. 35. They shouldn't have assumed so ._.**

**xXx**

**If it sounds weird, forgive me. I am trying to remove all 'is-constructions' from my writing, but then I kinda gave up :'D**

**And the book by Oscar Wilde has a meaning. It is supposed to be The Picture of Dorian Gray, and to those who have read it, what is pretty much going on with the three main characters? To those who haven't read it: Wikipedia or SparkNotes. Your choice 8D**

**Credit to RavenBlackRoses, for a reason you will discover next part and I shall explain~!**

**Thank you to roseangel222, anon SparklySnickers, my internet-sister Kiyoumi, and RavenBlackRoses for the reviews~**

**xXx**

**Reviews are loved! Favs are adored! Flames will be used to heat water for cup ramen!**


	8. Through Stalkers Pt 4

**New chapter! Le gasp~ AND WITHIN A WEEK! BUT WHY?**

**Answer: It is my birthday today 8DD Yay! Although funny enough, I only barely got out of my birthday being yesterday. Yeah, I was born February 24, 1994...**

**ONE MINUTE AFTER MIDNIGHT.**

**XD Fun fact~!**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: I do not own D8**

**xXx**

Why?

Why why why why why?

Why why why why why why why why why?

The simple three-letter word failed to cease circulating in his mind.

"Last chance, Orihara-san," the velvety voice bitterly relayed as Izaya felt a cool shove at his abdomen. He didn't have to look down, he knew what it was. The raven hardened his sanguine eyes. This was getting ridiculous.

"For the last time, I don't know what you're talking about!" he snapped, feeling his initial shock wearing away. His confusion and slight ire at being stopped was quickly replacing it. Mauve orbs were quick to narrow, clearly displeased with the answer.

"Bullshit!" he shoved the gun in further. Izaya wasn't able to tell what kind it was in the particular gloominess of their surroundings, but he knew for sure, _'if that thing went off..'_ He faintly shivered, not wanting to think about it. "I'm telling you the truth, and what the hell is with this thing? Stop pointing it at me!" he slapped at the other's hand in irritation, deterring the weapon from it's original firm place against his side.

Maxwell Sinclair was momentarily shocked, watching as his wrist was pushed sideways from the soft impact. _'This kid, just shrugging off being held at gunpoint like this,' _he shook his head a bit in silent disbelief before returning it to its prior position. "This is no joke, stop messing around-"

"You stop messing around!" Izaya suddenly interrupted, taking him aback once more, "What are you doing, grabbing classmates from the street and pointing guns at them, especially since you just met them today too! Rude, if you ask me!"

It quickly went out of control.

"What do you mean rude? You're the one in relation to that guy!"

Izaya looked perfectly bewildered, seemingly forgetting that this student had just threatened him with death. "What guy!"

"T-that guy, Atsushi! You know about him, don't you?"

Izaya briefly choked.

"That stalker guy! Like hell I want to know anything about him!" Maxwell stared. "S-stalker?" he managed to choke, a little confused at the abrupt accusation and how quickly the raven was talking. "Yes, stalker, that crazy freaken kid, he won't leave me alone! It's so creepy! So Shinra got his file just to be safe-"

"Shinra?"

"and then I got mad at Shinra for that boyfriend thing, I mean, really would giving me my own harem really work? Would it now?"

"I-I wouldn't know-"

"And then we found out he was French, and from Cor- Corsi-uh.."

"Corsica?"

"Yes that! Wait, how do you know that?"

The other was quick to break into a cold sweat upon realizing he let info slip out like that, "U-uh-" he quickly began stuttering as Izaya's eyes narrowed, the situation taking a complete 180-degree turn. "Wait, what are you anyway? And that Unione Corse, what the hell is that? Who ARE YOU-"

"Iza-nii! Where are you? Iza-nii!"

Both stilled at the abrupt and faint cries of a little girl. Wine-red eyes widened in surprise. "Is that-" he started, only to yelp as he was suddenly shoved from the alleyway and tripped back into the street just a few feet from the person who called for him. It didn't take long for little limbs to wrap in a deathhold around him.

"Where?.. worried," Kururi quietly whimpered, just about latching onto her older brother as Mairu began to openly wail. "Stupid Iza-nii!" she cried as she started kicking him, "you're so late, making me and Kuru-nee worry like that!" she continued to home her shiny dress shoes to the oldest Orihara's shin, not ceasing until he lifted her onto his arms. Even then, she continued kicking the air as he continued the interrupted trip home.

"That hurts, stop it!" he briefly reprimanded, patting her back for a few moments before doing the same to the short locks of his other twin sister, "I'm sorry ok? It's just that- WAIT A SECOND." Izaya quickly deposited Mairu back on the ground, released Kururi's iron-grip from his uniform, and quickly dashed to look into the alley he had been in just a few moments prior.

Nothing.

It was quite literally vacant, void of the other boy that had been threatening him just minutes ago. And it was also a pretty lengthy strip with little cover, it would take quite some time to be able to move to an unseen location; _'But to do that in just a minute or so, and so noiselessly' _Izaya felt a shiver run up his spine at the thought, briefly disturbed by the fact until several tugs at the hem of his shirt brought him from his thoughts. Mairu has ceased her waterworks, puffing her cheeks. "Something wrong, Iza-nii?" she questioned, Kururi to her right echoing her sister with a quiet "Wrong?"

"I-It's nothing. Come on, lets go home already."

The twins were quick to exchange glances. They might just be children, but even they knew something was wrong. Nevertheless, they decided not to probe, obvious in Mairu's smile as she demanded some curry for dinner that night, the older twin reciprocating with a quiet "With meat."

**xxx**

Maxwell could barely stop his heart's erratic beating.

He slipped.

He let information out.

And he used a loaded weapon on him.

He was seriously going to pull the trigger. He really was; it was what he had been trained to do. But then the control he had on the situation went to the other so easily, and he'd shown panic. "I was so rash," he muttered to himself, slamming his head gently on the brick wall he rested his back against. He managed to get a good distance from the other, but the distance was not enough for him to miss the two little girls who ran towards Izaya, tears in their eyes and arms outstretched.

He repeated the action again, this time harder, enough to send a dull ache through his head.

His guilt couldn't be put into words.

**._. 36. They made mistakes._.**

"You what?" Emerald eyes hardened exceptionally.

"I- uh, I made a mistake, I'm sorry," Violet eyes fell down to the floor in shame.

"I can see that, but my question is why?"

"Alejandro, you're being so tough on him~" a second voice cheerfully interjected, only to earn a rather harsh glare in return.

"Don't call me that."

"It's my fault, Vincenzo," the younger quietly piqued, "Ignazio has every right to be angry-"

"Damn right I do," the first, Ignazio, cut him off, "you don't normally fail. What happened here? I thought I told you to do what is possible to get what you needed to eliminate the target. Do you have a proper excuse, Maxwell?"

"Well-" Maxwell began hesitantly, stopping half-way. Under normal circumstances, he did complete the job without question. He's been doing it actively for nearly five years now, and like his Fratello said, he never failed. To fail simply meant that they didn't do their job properly of instilling every skill they knew into him mind, and it was something the sixteen year-old couldn't bear to allow. He wasn't going to let others look down on the two for a stupid mistake on his part.

"Well-" he started once more, idly removing the magazine of his M191, the same one he had used to threaten Izaya with earlier. He began to toy with the .45 ACP cartridge nervously, "he didn't know anything useful. He was just a bystander really, but-"

"But?"

"I-I uh, I accidentally mentioned the Unione Corse, because I was so sure-"

"Did you now?"

"A-and the implication that Noa was a target too-"

"Ahahaha!" Vincenzo easily burst out laughing as his partner frowned at the news.

Ignazio was always the Fratello Maxwell disliked upsetting. Vincenzo Fera was always more laid back, and his appearance spoke volumes of it. With his coffee-like brilliant brown eyes and cinnamon-colored hair, his constant smile easily decieved many and made his job much easier than it otherwise would be. He was a complete contrast to Ignazio, and sometimes, Maxwell wondered why they worked so well together.

It wasn't as if the other was cold to him, because he really wasn't. Ignazio Alejandro Verardi kept a constant and chilling mask, although on the job, he was just as charming as Vincenzo is on a daily basis. He was good at work too, not at all falling short to the other male with his own set of lush eyes and extraordinarily light amber locks. Ignazio typically kept a cool facade around other associates, and this showed through the disappointed sigh that escaped his lips, his stern face never changing. "Well," he started, "you do realize that your options in dealing with this boy are limited, correct?" Maxwell found himself biting his lip. He knew what this meant.

"Go apologize."

Amethyst eyes widened.

What?

"H-huh?" he stuttered unintelligently as his Fratello calmly repeated. "Go apologize," he clarified, "unless you want to kill him-"

"**I don't.**"

"Then, what are you waiting for?"

**._. 37. They had to fix them._.**

It was really the bluntest way he could put it.

"You look like shit," Shizuo easily criticized during the first moments of Lunch Break, staring straight at Izaya who was currently burning holes into the blackboard with tired eyes. Shinra leaned over, poking childishly at his best friend's crown of black hair. "No kidding!" he chirped, continuing the gesture a few more times, "is something wrong Izaya?" The younger of the three jumped a bit at the question, nearly spilling what had happened just the day prior, but stopped himself just as he began the first syllable.

"N-nothing," he gritted his teeth as Kadota cocked a single brow, clearly suspicious. "Y'sure?" he questioned, as the other gave a slightly strained smile and wave of his hand. "Of course!" he piqued, "no big deal!" Of course, it is a big deal, but after the whole harem thing with Atsushi went down, he became much more hesitant as to what information he diverged them with. _'This isn't as huge,'_ he nodded slightly to himself, _'it isn't something I have to tell them, I can handle it, I'm no maiden in distress!'_

"I'm good! Now lets go, I'm hungry, huuungry!" he began to whine, picking up his packed lunch and making a dash for the classroom exit. Shinra began to laugh, "You're always hungry by Lunch Time!" Shizuo scoffed from just behind him. "No, he's always starving during Literature class, is what he is." Kyohei stared at the blond. "How do you know that?" he questioned, to which the older shrugged a bit, not the least bit bothered by the inquiry. "I can hear him from my seat, Shinra might not, since he's always talking about Celty, but still, it's pretty loud."

"I-I see.."

As the group of four made their way out towards the rooftops isolated just for them, they didn't notice a student slip from the corridor, feeling for a cellphone in his pocket.

**xXx**

It took only two rings for him to pick up.

"Hello hello~? Nutella, mio amore~!"

"D-don't call me that!" Maxwell flushed a brilliant red at the mention of his childhood mock codename, "V-Vincenzo-"

"Yes~?"

Gosh, this man was too cheery for his own good.

"D-do," he hesitated with a sigh, "do I really have to?"

"Yes~!"

...

Well that was quick.

"Ugh, b-but-" he was cut off by his second Fratello's consistently upbeat voice. "Remember what Alejandro said~" he reminded, "either apologize to the boy, or off with his head, off with his head~!" The sixteen year-old frowned. "You're not watching Alice in Wonderland again, are you?"

"What am I supposed to do?" the other wailed, coming off more as static noise than an actual voice, "Alejandro is at therapy again~!" he could just about hear the pout in the man's tone.

"... Still?"

"Yes~! Now do what Ale told you, to now~~ bye bye!"

The other line clicked, a sign that he had been hung up on. Maxwell found himself grimacing, his intent to have Vincenzo change Ignazio's mind about the situation just about going up in ashes. The cellphone emitted a resounding beep, confirming that the connection was gone, and his instructions were absolute.

He didn't want to do this.

But if he didn't-

**._. 38. There was no other option._.**

Izaya switched from drilling holes into the blackboard to trying to set the stapled packet before him into fiery ruins. "Damn it!" Shizuo slammed his textbook on his desk.

"Just what the fuck is with you?" he demanded, already tired of the younger male's odd behavior that day. Class was finally over, having finished with the last subject on their schedule before they were free to leave for home. Most students around them were already gone, leaving the class room mostly vacant. Even Shinra and Kadota had already left, with the doctor-to-be rambling on something about his beloved and the other something he didn't quite catch, much to his shame. Izaya pouted, puffing his cheeks for a few moments before pointing at the offending pile. "I forgot to turn in the Calculus packet," he simply explained, his words just about dripping with malice at mentioning the subject. The blond rolled his eyes in irritation.

"Then go turn it in," he replied, earning a huff from the other boy. "But I don't want to go all the way to the Teacher's Offices!" he whinned, bottom lip still stubbornly jutting out. Shizuo threw his school bag over his shoulder, "then don't get any credit for it, dumbass. I'm out, don't take so long," he carelessly lifted a hand in good-bye, as Izaya stuck his tongue at his retreating form, exiting the classroom.

The raven huffed once more, turning crimson eyes back to the math homework laying innocently on his desk. "Stupid Shizu-chan," he muttered, throwing a few books he would need for studying that night into his schoolbag, zipping it shut once he was done, "just because he's good at this stuff, he gets all high and mighty about it when he really sucks at English anyway. And Government, for that matter," he found himself cracking a smile despite his foul mood. Picking up his late work, he made a beeline for the Teacher's office, intent on turning the package in.

The office was luckily on his floor, so Izaya didn't have to worry about going down any stairs. What he didn't like, however, was that it was located all the way around on the other side of the building, so as he made his way to the instructor offices, he was passing a lot of students who were leaving. Sure, people greatly interested him, but he hated mindless crowds that paid no attention to their surroundings, and even more when he was already in a fit from having a tardy assignment in his hands. Annoyed, he shoved through the last bit of the mass, wanting to get it over with and go home. He reached the doors to the offices, and just as he extended his hand to the door, it slid open from the other side, startling him slightly at the abrupt action.

He saw a male Raijin uniform on the other side.

He quickly noticed how tall the student was, almost like Shizuo or Kadota, really.

Izaya blinked.

Followed by his dark hair...

And brilliant violet eyes.

He felt his eyes widen in shock, his face contorting in realization.

Maxwell Sinclair's wasn't any different.

**._. 39 They had a chance._.**

Like any sane person, Izaya took several large steps backwards.

"W-wait!"

"What for? So you can shoot me?" he was surprised he shot out with a retaliation so quickly. The other boy's face twisted in guilt. "No! I- uh, I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that-"

"Damn right you shouldn't have!"

"I know that, but- will you stop stepping backwards and let me explain!"

"Hardly!"

"It was a misunderstanding, okay? I really didn't mean to! It's just that I overheard you talking about Noa, and I assumed you knew something on him-"

"And what are you? An assassin or something?" Izaya joked, but upon seeing Maxwell's eyes drift to the floor, he paled. "Oh crap, you are?"

"I-it was just info gathering, I swear!" he reasoned, "I'm not supposed to do anything to him, but-" he trailed off. He really wasn't supposed to make a move on Atsushi, he was being truthful on that, but-

He didn't want to say he wasn't going to act yet.

Izaya was perfectly flabbergasted. "How am I supposed to trust your word? I mean, you pointed a gun at me yesterday-!"

"It was a M191-"

"DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW THAT."

"I-I'm sorry, okay?" his sudden and quiet voice stilled the other's stubborness for a second, "I can't really prove that you should trust what I am saying, but it's just oe of those things that doesn't have explaination. I won't do it again, that I can promise." Izaya was silent for a few moments.

"Do you promise that?"

"Absolutely."

"Would you commit seppuku if you break that?"

"...Commit what?"

"Ritual suicide."

"H-huh? U-uh," he hesitated at the abrupt addition, "y-yes."

"You sure about that?"

"Absolutely."

"Seriously?.."

"Of course," Lilac eyes regained their composure, and silence reigned their surroundings.

"Then I guess I forgive you," the raven finally spoke. Maxwell immediately felt a weight leave his chest. "For real?"

"Yes, for real, just as long as you never point one of those Ms at me again."

"A M191?"

Izaya couldn't help but laugh at that, "Yes, one of those."

That sound. Maxwell Sinclair was sure, that if the other boy forgave him for his actions, the guilt eating at him and nervousness making home in his chest would leave. They did, but at the sight of that smile and the sound of that laugh, a new sensation gripped his being. He was briefly confused, wondering exactly what was wrong...

Because his heart refused to stop beating so erratically.

**._. 40. They found redemption._.**

**xXx**

**This one was loooonng~**

**The hunger thing, now THAT is for real, I based it on something. To my shame, M.R. and I are starving by 9:30 AM every schoolday :'D Class starts at 8 AM for me, people. And we don't even eat at school anymore! *has two home periods* Even today, I could hear my stomach during AP Government :'DD Even when we would eat school lunch, we got hungry an hour later still! And I enjoyed writing a little friction between Shizuo and Izaya too~~**

**8D So I lied, I'll tell everyone what RavenBlackRoses' idea was next chapter~! *didn't want to rush* Will include an extra too~ but for now~ just this one! 8D *gets pelted***

**xXx**

**Hey! It's my birthday today! GIVE ME REVIEWS AS B-DAY PRESENTS! XDD **

**xXx**

**I should probably put a warning that there are several OCs, right?...**


	9. Through Exams

**I am sorry D8 My computer charger fried JUST after I updated, and I have been desolate ever since :'D Luckily, my dad stomped up to me in his awesome manliness and told me to hand over the computer charger and battery. I did, and two hours later, he came home with a replacement charger 8DDDDDD Yay for dads~!**

**And thank you to all for the birthday wishes~~ and I am happy you guys are actually in anticipation for a new chapter too~! So here it is~! First up: EXTRAA!**

**And extra note! I just finished Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and ARGH! WHY WASN'T I INFORMED OF THE AWESOMENESS? ! THE FIGHTS-! SPIRAL POWER! AND THE GREAT KAMINAAAAAAAAAAAAA! *is incompetent at the moment***

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: I have yet to aquire any shares of the Durarara! franchise B'D I clearly own nothing.**

**xXx**

In all justification, Government was a pretty hard subject to tackle. Laws changed, common sense failed against tradition, and there was certainly no equation to solve a problem asking about the system they practiced. But even so, it was nevertheless a school requirement, so whether they liked it or not, students cracked textbooks open and flipped through material to be taught for that day's lesson.

Exams were something different altogether.

Personally, Shizuo deemed it the most absolutely fucking CRUEL invention on the planet. Just thinking about the hours of studying in one spot made his head ache, moreover because he was already aware that he disliked doing it alone, what with his drifting attention span on anything without numbers. Which left one option...

**._. 41. They had no other option ._.**

Izaya wasn't fond of cramming, even though he does it on a near constant basis since he began as a Third Year.

Cramming did nothing for you, really. All the information you want to retain becomes short-term instead of long-term as you try to stuff your brain with data, practically leaving you at the beginning with only tidbits of the reading managing to stick to your mind. The rest lost itself within the wasteland of your mind, completely useless when the stapled package of horror slams its ugly butt on your table. A real waste of time if you asked him!

And yet...

**._. 42. They were going to do what was best ._.**

Shinra wanted to wail.

Tests, stupid tests! Those evil inventions crafted from a teacher's wrathful mind! They whittled at his precious time, precious time he could have spent with his love! Really now, that made no sense. Shinra was finding himself spending more time with his three friends throwing papers about because Izaya forgot the order of the flow chart for Economics two weeks ago (it was hilarious, but still, his bed nearly went out the window that time), just what the hell was up with that?

Even if he skipped out on studying, he knew his Celty would just shove her PDA in his face, upset at his procrastination and scolding him for his neglect. To him, it was a sweet sign that she cared for something so miniscule to him as grades, but he knew she was right.

He had to...

**._. 43. They were going to even if they didn't want to ._.**

Kadota didn't have a problem with studying. If he had extra time, he would give a textbook a quick scan for the night and stay refreshed on the subject for the next day. His real problem was the three idiots he called 'friends'.

Seriously!

They, like he mentioned before, were idiots. They could sit down with the intention to work, and just a comment from Izaya and a projectile from Shizuo, and BAM! the library just about becomes a battlefield. Even without those two, just Shinra alone was a distraction. He wouldn't shut up, always piping up useless details about his homelife with the Headless Rider that Kyohei never wanted to know, although he did laugh when Shinra once relayed, completely terrified, how he left his house for two weeks to escape his step-mother..

...Point was!, they were a bother. Period.

Although sometimes, there were instances where he would get stuck doing something, and the three lunatics would be of use and actually help him out. Or in Shizuo's case, change his negative to a positive with brief penciling, making him want to bang his head on the table for being such an idiot and forgetting sign changes.

So that meant...

**._. 44. They knew it would help ._.**

They were ready.

Sorta.

They kinda had to be, because like hell Shizuo drank five cups of that bitter ass coffee for nothing!

Their instructor was already at the front of the classroom, placing stacks of bubbled Scantron sheets to run for official scoring before every aisle for the students to pass backwards.

"First name, last name, class, date, and test number! Hurry, we don't have much time! 100 multiple choice plus Free Response Essay to do!" Kadota found himself choking at the teacher's words. O-one hundred questions? But their class period was only 55 minutes long! _'He must really want us to get this done,'_ he thought to himself, quickly picking up his pencil to write the necessary data.

"I hate this class so much," Shizuo gritted lowly, graphite nearly cracking at the pressure of his nerves. One hundred was A LOT of bubbles to fill, and with Government not being his forte, of course he was worried!

"I really hate this class.."

Izaya found himself staring for a few moments, before breaking into a cold sweat.

_'I don't think I can finish that!'_

Shinra nearly fell out of his chair in surprise.

W-what the hell? Their exams almost always consisted of thirty to fifty-five questions, and the Free Response was always homework! And now this atomic bomb landed on them!

He found himself mourning at the thought of a low score.

Celty will not be happy.

"This test will include everything by far, but most heavily American Politics!"

_'But we're not in America,'_ Shinra found himself pouting as the instructor continued. "At that means eveything! PACs, the political parties practiced there, interest groups, lobbyists and their restrictions!"

_'Oh fuck,'_ Shizuo sweatdropped, _'they had restrictions? ' _

"And that includes restrictions on interest groups as well! Also, their techniques! What they use to influence government there! Grassroots techniques, shotgun, rifle, everything! Indirect and direct!"

Kadota froze, slowly turning to stare at Izaya just two seats down. The raven-haired boy must've been thinking the same thing, for he too turned to stare at the other, the same thought in their minds.

_'What the hell is a shotgun technique?'_

"And it is all here, got it?" he raised a thick handful of packets, none of them all too slim. They knew what they were, "then, is everyone ready?"

The entire classroom stayed silent, knowing their desire to skip out the test for that day would not be heeded.

"Good!" the teacher nodded approvingly, before plopping the stapled papers on his desk, "now, pass your Scantrons forward, test is tomorrow and is going to split into the next day after!"

Shinra fell off his chair this time.

"H-hah?" a shocked uproar gripped all Third-Years present. Shizuo dimly felt his pencil slip off his hands and clink onto the floor in shock. The instructor stared at them funny. "What? Did you guys think I would actually give you so much for an hour? No! We're reviewing today. Open up textbooks to page 523, come on!"

Izaya put his face in his hands as the students around him put their surprise aside and began flipping through pages.

**._. 45. They didn't need it ._.**

**xXx**

**THIS happened to me on Monday B'D My teacher trolled us BAD... **

**I think Imma go back and edit Chapter 1 some, since I meant that to be a oneshot C:**

**xXx**

**Review! Because just who the hell do you think I am? (I really love that series!)**


	10. Author Note

**GUYS.**

**FORGIVE ME.**

**I desperately do not want to put this story on hiatus, nor am I discontinuing it, but I don't think I can write for the next month D': My mojo with this story has dissipated, and right now, I'm just typing what comes to mind and trying to arrange it, but it's just coming up as scraps. I would totally take the time to brainstorm, buttt- **

**MY CLASSES MAN *groans* it's gotten to the point that I don't have the freedom of sleeping past 7 AM anymore until mid-May. I don't have weekends anymore! My teachers are requiring us to come in for four hours every Saturday and are making attending 90% of our grade, and I'm dangerously close to failing a class I desperately need to pass. AND IT'S A MERE ELECTIVE. AND IT'S MIDTERMS TOO-**

**AND THEN MY AP EXAMS DDD: I'm pretty much set for one (le yay! :D), but I'm stuggling in two others and another (LE NO! D:), I have no idea if I'm ready.**

**AND THEN I'M SHORT 7,000 ON MY UNIVERSITY TUITION- *slams head on pavement* AHJAKHFKJALFHK! AND I FORGOT I'M SUPPOSED TO SEND IN MY RESIDENCE AND DINING PAPERWORK TOO! *gasps***

**AND MY MEDICAL FORMS- **

**OMG I ALSO FORGOT ABOUT MY SENIOR PORTFOLIO-**

***mindscrew***

**...**

**M-my point is, temporary break while I sort the ass-bite that life is currently bounty-hunting me ;7; I'll TRY to update sometime between now and the afternoon of May 17th, when my exams officially end, but there's no guarantee (since I'd probably be partying with Durarara! anime and some chorizo at having my grievances ending) :'D So until then-**

**Cheers darlings~!**

**ArAnCaR_No_6**

**P.S.: This mega rant will be deleted and replaced with either a Stalker chapter or random one (whatever hits me, really :'D), unless you guys find my ragings to have tickled your fancy quite thoroughly and want it to stay :D Just let me know~~**


	11. Through Stalkers Pt 5

**Gaiz**

**Omg gaiz**

**I finished testing.**

**Have a celebratory chapter.**

**A celebratory stalker chapter**

**C:**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: Do not own orz (Some curing, but nothing you've never heard, kay?)**

**xXx**

In the following schooldays, Izaya had felt a sliver of relief, knowing that exchange student wouldn't be tailing him about (really though, that was one unexpected experience). He thought it was friendly when the boy would occassionally raise a hand from the distance in greeting, a slight quirk at the corners of his mouth as his amethyst eyes warmed with his returning gesture. It was nice, really, to have an aquaintance outside of the sphere he was accustomed to, seeing as the aspiring doctor of the group has tried to make patients out of his three friends these last several days. It was great getting away from him once in a while..

Not that he had a problem with watching Shizuo smack Shinra about, though.

Kadota pretending he didn't know them was the best part.

**._.46. They strayed when they felt the need to ._.**

To place it in the simplest terms was impossible.

Maybe.

No, it wasn't that, it was just that he couldn't explain how he felt.

It was hard to express, but if he had to be blunt..

It was FUCKIN REFRESHING TO HIM.

Like when you were being quaranteened to the hot and humid enclosure of your bedroom and finally feeling the heavenly breeze of fresh air drift through the once dead atmosphere. It was like the sick and queasy feeling you had as a child upon seeing a needle at the doctor's office, and the ease of leaving with nothing more than a slight sting and the prize of a sugary treat for doing what needed to be done. It was relief, quenching every firey corner of discomfort felt inside. It was taking ahold of every nook and cranny possible and simply soothing the twitching pain like aloe over painful burns and scars, it was-

..getting too emotional.

Maxwell Sinclair blinked a few times, rather startled by how far his thoughts went.

Where did that come from?

He knew it was a given that he felt better upon apologizing to the boy (it was between 'I'm sorry' or taking him out, really) but this- _'And I just executed figuritive language too.' _He frowned, now finding the situation alarming. It wasn't normal, for him to be thinking so much and so seriously about someone else. The only times he ever accustoms in doing that it constitutes as srategy when eliminating a target, and the last time he checked, the Unione Corse never mentioned harming any Japanese students. _'Just that damn Frenchie..'_ Maxwell eyetwitched for a moment before relocating his thoughts to his prior worry.

_'It's just relief,'_ assuring himself, he shook his head a bit to further purge his rantings, thoughts that have been sprouting for days, _'why am I taking it so seriously?'_

**._. 47. They took time to think._.**

Izaya got permission to drop off his novel at the library early in the morning, just before the tardy students rushed to their classrooms. He had time, so he took it slow, a practical hop in his step as he made his way back to his classroom.

He was able to relax today too, thank Kami-sama. Midterms were over fot the moment, and he had to admit, the idea of studying hard among friends just didn't work out sometimes. _'Especially if they're like this..' _the student sighed, stopping outside just within earshot of hearing his middle-school friend ask for 'samples' from the oldest boy in their group, that damn custom which Shinra had yet to give up or even falter in.

He didn't need to open the sliding door to know that Shizuo had just shrieked-

_***CRASH***_

or that he tried to flatten Shinra with a desk.

..Well, the resounding smashes that followed would constitute various attempts, in case the first one didn't work, or he was just trying to overkill. _'Yeah,' _Izaya pouted,_ 'that sounds about right. Suddenly,it's like he doesn't want to chuck anything at me anymore,' _the raven found himself cocking an arched brow,_ 'Why am I worrying about that? It's not as if I miss it or anything- wait WHY AM I TALKING TO MYSLELF?..'_ Shaking his head in disapproval (although partially it was to get rid of the slight flush or embarrassment he felt at thinking such things), he took a detour to the bathroom.

_'I need to clear my mind a bit.'_

**._. 48. They had worries like everyone else._.**

_'I NEED TO BLEACH MY MIND,' _Maxwell ran his hands under the running faucet, catching some of the water to toss on his reddened face. At first, it didn't concern him as much, to be thinking such thoughts of his first school acquaintance (considering their initial meeting), but when he realized he had been starting to go from metaphors to paradoxes and clusters of alliteration ..

That called for a bathroom break.

The young foreigner straightened up from his hunched position over the porcelain sink, giving himself comical little slaps in the face in a desperate attempt to empty his mind of the boy with raven hair and the only cherise eyes he has ever seen. _'Stop it, remember your mission. Just because the target is not to be seen doesn't mean you can stray from the objective,'_ he felt himself start to relax a bit as he focused on his reflection in the bathroom mirror, slowly breathing in and out. _'Think sniping from a distance, steady shot, deep breaths..'_ It should've been abnormal that that was how he calmed himself, but it worked, and Maxwell finally began to hush himself..

_'Alright, just empty your mind, forget all about OH MY-'_

All breathing exercises he was taught as a child flew right out the window when he finally noticed the presence of a second individual in the previously vacant lavatory. Under normal circumstances, he would do what Vincenzo cheerfully told him to do the last time he publically humiliated himself (he was 11 years-old and naive, he kinda had it coming), but no amount of desperately trying to salvage and walk away with his remaining dignity prepared him for this. Who would be, when this person tilted his head in amusement, stygian locks falling with movement and those saccharine eyes that-

_'SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP-'_

"Busy there?" Izaya couldn't help but tease. It was hilarious anyway, watching the taller boy make faces to himself in the mirror, only to look as if he was punched in the esophagus when he realized he had a companion standing there. It was kinda cute, actually. _'It's what Shizu-chan does when he gets caught-'_ Izaya's eyes immediately widened at the unintentional relation, instantaneously ceasing his inner monologue at that second. _'I did not just think that..'_

Maxwell's eyes widened at the sudden flush that absorbed into the smaller male's face. _'He's so.. cute- WHAT STOP IT-'_ he mentally berated himself for a few moments before gathering the courage not to stutter. "Just getting away from class. Is Orihara-san-?" he left the question open, no longer wanting to make his own assumptions with this boy, seeing the results of the prior time he did.

"Oh no!" he cheerfully chirped, finally leaving his initial position against the door to stride a few steps closer to his taller classmate, "just waiting it out for a bit, since Shizu-chan's wiping the floor with Shinra right now! He deserved it, though." The assassin forced his heart to calm at the close proximity, only to still at the unfamiliar name that crossed the native student's lips.

Shizu-chan.

"Who?"

"Oh, right! You haven't met him before!" he clapped his hands together, not at all sensing the other's reaction, "a friend of mine, I guess. Although we started out with him throwing school property at me 1st Year... and 2nd-"

"He throws... school property at you?.."

"Not recently, no!" he protested, "he's okay though. Unpredictable, but an ok guy- Ah," he let out a sigh, stepping back towards the door, "I should probably go, since my excuse out of class was the library. I'll see you later!"

"Ah, yeah.. later."

**._. 49. They had things they thought about._.**

Izaya didn't bother analyzing his response. As to why his voice came out so tightly, he assumed it was a remenant of his catching him making silly faces just minutes prior to his arrival. He felt no worry at all about leaving the 3rd year behind, however..

Maxwell didn't bother going back for the rest of the period, knowing that at the moment, his instructor would probably be too busy juggling a lecture Ignazio had forced on him three years back along with a noisy class. No one would pay much attention to his absence. Either way, he had a new tug of discomfort pulling at the corner of his mind.

He thought Izaya was a very good friend to have. He didn't see why he would have anyone threaten him in any way (himself excluded, that single time he still so very deeply regreted), so what was with him calling this guy a friend? This guy who just ceased trying to harm him for an instant, and could just be on the same level as him..

_'This 'Shizu-chan'..'_

He didn't need much deliberation to reach a conclusion.

_**'I DON'T LIKE HIM.'**_

**._. 50. They couldn't let things stand ._.**

**xXx**

**Heads up: no OC is meant to be cool and slick. They'll get silly. Just like the rest of us.**

**I hope you liked. While my testing days are over, I still have finals and graduation, so I dunno if Imma be more or less active, but I'll try! :'D**

**xXx**

**Reviews are loved~ ;7;**


	12. Through Water Mishaps

They all had a terrible experience with the fountain in the park.

Well, more specifically, it was with a series of weird little notches hidden somewhere within the rushing waters, large enough to act as complicated hooks and tie-downs, and deep enough to cause serious soaking. At first, they couldn't tell where they were specifically, they just knew they were SOMEWHERE, but after the fourth or fifth time, Shizuo made enough sense to be able to tell that most were somewhere across from the benches, where the view of Sunshine 60 was most prominent. However, despite this discovery, they were hardly able to decrease their run-ins with these demonic little abnormalities.

**._.51. They knew it was something they shouldn't be ashamed of ._.**

Kadota thanked God everyday that it last happened to him when he was still in elementary, when he was still a child. Lord knows Izaya would have never let it go if he ever witnessed him nearly crying at age seven for being unable to pull the cuff of his sweater loose from the sharper of the notches, getting soaked to the elbows in his desperation to preserve the knit material.

It got ruined anyway.

Celty would have to admit, it was her fault when Shinra drew his clothing up and actually climbed into the fountain willingly, the middle-schooler declaring loudly to the afternoon skies that he was going to retrieve his Lady's fallen kerchief, having been knocked out of her hands when the boy tried to glomp her. She typed hurriedly on her PDA to stop him from attracting the police, waving her free hand madly in an attempt to get his attention as he waded into the waters, dipping his hands to locate the black material.

"Don't fear my Celty!" he chirped, moving from area to area as people stopped to momentarily stare (she no longer knew if it was at her or him), "I shall find it like a knight for his princess~!"

Two hours, five gashes to the exposed legs, four slices to the palms, and one ruined uniform later, he had still not found it.

"I shan't give up!" he cried shrilly when Celty tried to pick him from the water herself.

Shizuo didn't have it too bad. He wasn't stupid enough to climb in like the aspiring-doctor.

Well... at least not anymore..

At age eight, he would often frown briefly down at the accumalating scratches and loose threads at the hems of his wet clothing before turning to the quiet boy peering down at the jolting waves just beyond the brick boundary. "Where did you say you dropped it?" Shizuo could feel himself tilting over, dizzy from the water's movement and a faint itch of another cut joining the rest.

He pointed to the opposite side, "Over there."

Kasuka was old enough to fish things out himself... or at least pay to get the thing drained.

Izaya probably had it the worst, considering that ONE TIME.

He didn't have to retreive anything from the depths, mostly because he himself usually stayed away from water unless it involved showering, and he himself always made sure his sisters stayed away from any outside liquids. In otherwords, he was extremely careful.

However, he failed to take into account Shizuo's lack of predictability.

Or the fact that he would ever think about shoving him into the fountain.

**._. 52. They still were, though ._.**

Shinra screeching 'He fell in! I think he's kind of drowning, is he drowning? CPR, someone!' in the background was very annoying as the remaining two boys tried to free him from the snags the stupid hooky-thingers that were savagely twisted around his shirt and jacket. At first, Kadota had enough sense after the initial shock to recall that Izaya carried a switchblade with him. Shinra had approached at that moment to chirp in agreement; they should use his switchblade to cut him out. Now, this was just his opinion, but Shizuo swore he saw Izaya thrash about rather violently in the water at the notion of having his uniform slashed up. But with the raven being so frustratingly **tiny** (the blond did not hesitate to yell about his stature to him at such a moment)and having his airways partially blocked up by the bubbling rush of ongoing water, their only option was searching him for it.

"I'm not doing it," the oldest of the four easily gave up, blinking a few times at the incredulous looks he got from the other two, "it's like we're frisking him or something. It's not right, the honorable thing would be to let him die.. in honor..." he ended awkwardly, not knowing where exactly that emerged from.

Considering his friends' blank faces and the fact that even Izaya wasn't kicking like a frenzied animal anymore, they didn't either.

"S-so we just let him drown like this? We'll just let the fountain take him down?" Kadota cringed, quickly taking notice of Shinra's very amused face, "s-sure, it would be shameful, but why not let him LIVE the shame out, huh?.. Think about that," here, he took the liberty of utilizing a 'magical' hand motion, "SHAME."

"I think Izaya's _ALMOST_ dead, you guys," Shinra broke their odd conversation, giving his nearly silenced friend a few harsh tugs in attempts to free him himself.

"SHIT WE FORGOT HIM-"

**._. 53. They had to get it done quickly._.**

In the end, Shizuo had finally recalled he had abnormal strength and simply reached towards the bases of the restraints and quite literally **tore **Izaya from place. The raven emerged, sputtering and coughing like mad, absolutely soaked to the core and shivering from the abrupt exposure from chilled water to fresh air. Before any words could be exchanged between friends (Shinra had stepped out of the water by that time), let them be of worry or reassurance, were completely thrown out the window the second Izaya threw a solid punch and vicious kick, knocking the two remaining males to the structure ground.

"YOU GUYS LEFT ME THERE-"

**._. 54. They had to get it done VERY quickly._.**

Orihara Kyoko(1) was very much worried for her son. According to the twins, he wasn't going anywhere afterschool, and is usually at home with them by 4:15 PM at the latest. It was now past 5 PM, and she could feel her hands jittering with nervousness.

She wasn't home often, but it didn't mean she didn't care for her children.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the front door, noise the sound of jingling keys resounding as a knob was twisted, an irritated sigh echoing through the hall and to her place at the living room.

Kyoko didn't hesitate to rapidly make her way to her son, fully intent on reprimending him for his tardiness. Before she could, however, his condition stopped her in her tracks.

His usually gorgeous and fluffy black hair was plastered to his scalp, dark uniform heavy and absolutely soggy at the hems. Random handfuls of twisted fabric were apparent at the surface of his shirt, half-dried lines marring the jacket she was sure she ironed for him in the morning, as if Izaya had tried to wring the soppiness out. His damp schoolbag dangled weakly from his hand, the other loosely cradling his own pair of housekeys, and his rather petty appearance was completed by the dry blue school-jacket draped across his shoulders.

"Izaya.. dear what happened to you?.." her astoundment overpowered her inital displeasure at him, to which he mistook as suspicion.

"I tripped."

"..Huh?.."

"NO ONE PUSHED ME."

"What?.."

**._. 55. They left it the best way they could._.**

**xXx**

**(1) Orihara Kyoko: I'm not too sure if everyone knows, but that is the actual and very cannon name of Izaya's mom, so yeah... using it..**

**Omg u gaiz I graduated! :D **

**FACT!: I originally planned to end this story by graduation, but it became big, and updates were sparse, so I extended it rather indefinitely.**

**Sorry for making you wait, but I hope u gaiz are still reading! I'm mostly at tumblr right now, so sorry as well to anyone who has PMed me and I don't respond D':**

**Review plz? :'D**


	13. Through Stalkers Pt 6

**TIRED I'LL TITLE THE SECTIONS IN THE MORNING**

**XxX**

**I got my first piece of criticism gaiz. Apparently, my descriptions could use some work.**

**WHY HASN'T ANYONE TOLD ME I AM VAGUE U GAIZ Y ;A; (I should've known, my teacher writes 'VAGUE' at the top of my essay papers all the time =7=;) Although I'm not sure which are the type that need work: character descriptions, or surrounding descriptions? LET'S GO FOR BOTH.**

**New chapter, hopefully I do better.**

**xXx**

The long halls of Raira were still empty when Izaya allowed the bathroom door to swing shut behind himself, the short, sharp breeze that followed skimming his crown of hair. He didn't bother dwelling much on the other's awkward actions, deeming them to be something personal the Third Year didn't really want to find out (seeing what went on the last time he discovered a sliver of the foreigner's occupation). And besides, he was telling the truth: he kind of needed to go back to class. Even if it was still early and there was a chance their teacher was running a bit on the late side when it comes to lessons due to.. distractions..

Izaya suddenly found himself violently jumping at the abrupt noise and surprised shrieks emnating from the closed doors of his class, whose outside appearance looked eerily peaceful despite the sudden dash of flying hair as a student ran to safety past the glass panel on the entrance.

**SMASH**

"SHINRA!"

..Shizuo was doing a splendid job at distraction.

**._. ._.**

The door swung a few times as the student exited, fluttering the disturbed wind in and out just a bit before settling peacefully. Silence penetrated the air, not unlike the faintest of white noise, before the room's only occupant finally reacted after the distant footsteps at last vanished.

Maxwell Sinclair just about collapsed. Just right there on the bathroom floor, he crouched low on the white-tiled floor, absolutely shamed and very much embarrassed. The foreigner's face burned dark red, sweating buckets, reprimanding himself over and over again for allowing such emotions on display. "I suck, I really really suck," he bemoaned, covering his face with his hands even though the lavatory remained as vacant as the minute he initially stormed in, complexion flushed and violet eyes drilling holes into the porcelain sink he had been beelining over towards.

The foreigner could just about FEEL every little drop of nervous persperation stream down his face, viciously scouring at them with his uniform sleeve as if such an action could erase the school-girl display he had just allowed Izaya to see.

He cringed, and just for extra measure, shifted a little more to his right so the sink overlapped him just a bit from the top.

Hey, cover is cover, right?

He exhaled little by little, trying to reduce his body's erratic reaction to his conversation with the other Third-Year. However, just remembering that it was a conversation with the Third-Year that he had was counteracting his measures, features growing red hot once more. So he began trying to discract his mind with other matters:

_'Last night's dinner was okay...'_

xXx

The angry growl of a teenager rang throughout the elegant enclosures of a private manoir, just at the coast of Marseille. The home was of beautiful early 20th century architecture, absolutely lush in green life and abundant in blue skies, plentiful in marine birds occassionally taking off and coming back. However, at the abrupt cry, many of the mediterranean fowl speaking in fright from their comfortable positions at the abode's restored peaks. The winged creatured flocked away, chirping up a storm as the individual responsible, just visable beyond the expanse of window mounted on the first floor came down from his tantrum.

Atsushi pouted, very clearly displeased with his family's current actions, to which he did not hesitate to voice.

"How come I have to be cooped up in this sad place?" he demanded, knitting his brows and folding his arms and legs for emphasis in case his tone didn't quite get through, "I want to go back, I already did the crap Father wanted done, you people are making me lose time!" he didn't add that it was time with his beloved (the family guards could go without that sort of information). Atsushi sunk in further in his plush seat at his family's parlor (who the HELL still had a parlor these days?), eyeing the silent twin guards stationed at the door, the only exit out of his miserable hole.

'They look like the ones back in Britain guarding the Queen's doors,' he angrily poured as the one to his left answered the robotic answer he has been receiving he last four hours.

"Sir, we have been ordered according to your-" the young boy rolled his eyes, waving him off before he could hear the repetitive speech once more. "I know, I know!" Atsushi was thoroughly annoyed, "danger, stay inside until further notice, something's trying to kill me, whatever!"

It had been perhaps well over two weeks since he last stepped within the halls of Raira. Of course, the private schools in his home country were much better, and yes, in his first days as a student of the academy, he wanted to bail; it was a foreign place in a foreign land with a bunch of foreign people speaking a foreign-

Well, you get the point.

He was French, just what was he doing in a Japanese school? Moreover, in a Japanese school within the bounds of such a rambunctous little place like Ikebukuro (it also took him about two weeks to be able to pronounce it correctly). He would have expected to have been placed somewhere in the actual city of Tokyo, or maybe even Kyoto or Okinawa; but noo, his mother just HAD to put in a little word to his father about the city's entertainment districts and that damn owl statue she was so fascinated with. AND THE SEAL WAS NEWS OF RAIJIN'S EXISTANCE.

So he, three suitcases, and his trust fund was shipped overseas.

Now when he looked upon it with much more care and consideration, the move wasn't bad. He got private transportation, his residence already set up, and just the entrance exams to do (although he, to his shame, also got sorta lost in the bustle of shifting students). After acceptance and finally initiating his freshman year, it was easy to ease into the noise of automobiles and the everlasting flicker of the streetlight through his bedroom window, a dramatic but pleasant change to the dark and peaceful atmosphere of Marseille.

And then came that boy..

That boy with his beautiful, beautiful dahlia-like eyes.

Atsushi found himself sighing, half-dreamily at the thought of the other yet and the same time half-distressed at the aspect of having to sink into rememberance to sate his inability to see him face to face. It was arbitrary, it was irrational, it-!

"It sucks," he huffed to himself, resuming his downer thoughts as he continued to sit there, his thoughts festering around his object of affection as he was kept in his own self-proclaimed prison for what is to him an unreasonable amount of time more.

**._. ._.**

"HE LIVES," Izaya deadpanned, watching Shinra tend to a rather concentrated bruise, tucked away by a pure white wrap of gauze about his forehead. The young doctor even seemed a bit cheerful about it, even throughout the periods prior to lunch, to which the blond merely shrugged and excused his actions with the calm reasoning of 'I needed to let something connect' as a valid argument as to why Izaya's English textbooks were snugly planted on the baseball field quite some ways over.

His pens were missing too..

"I might not have been able to get a sample from Shizuo," at this, said boy cringed rather visably, "but I have the next best thing~!"

"..Brain damage?" Kadota offered, earning a bit of a pout from the megane. "Noooo!" he chastisized, as if the answer was very obvious, "a mental gauge, of course! Now I get the idea of one of Shizuo's typical item blows!" Shinra knocked on the undamaged side of his head to emphasize his reasoning, to which the remaining three spared glances at each other.

"Actuallly... I sorta lobbed the one that made contact.."

"Huh?"

"Weak Shinra, weakkkk..."

"Hey!"

xXx

It took Maxwell a total of 45 minutes to finally exit the bathroom, although partly it was also because at the strike of 2nd period, a student (looked like a 1st Year) decided to pay a visit to the lavatory.

And promptly backed out upon finding an upperclassman mumbling to himself underneath one of the sinks..

Maxwell flushed a bit more at the memory, especially at the younger student's mumbles of 'sorry to disturb you' and the fact that he kept his eyes trained to the ground. He sighed, disappointed at his crumbling facade. It was perfectly fine just until recently! The young assassin scowled further, tracing his actions as far back as to the point in which he was stationed here in Raijin. He recalled all points of the order, given no time constriction in order to do the job well, and being shoved with a freshly ironed Raijin uniform by Vincenzo...

There was that incident at the supply shop, where his cheerful Fratello insisted on school shopping, Ignazio making another set of appointments between the erasers and paperclips..

The happier side of the duo had gone as far as fastening his school uniform tie up on his first day over, gushing about how handsome he looked as the other brunet slowly reached for his daily dose of diazepam over his partners excited chattering.

Sometimes, Maxwell thought Ignazio had some serious problems..

Since entering and from that point on, he inspected the students around him with the same disposition the more reserved of his handlers did (God knows if he did it like Vincenzo does, he'd be known as the school playboy by now..). He picked between the mass of students, identifying who bore the faintest relation to the French boy, and after some time of, well... fail, he thought of passing some time in the library they way he used to as a child; much like the little trips Ignazio used to indulge him in before he went into... treatment..

He ceased striding through the polished halls, only a bit over half-way through to his assigned classroom, instead opting to rest against one of the many elongated windows stretching across the other side of the building. _'There's been no shift,'_ he frowned, unable to understand, _'between the library and now, just what-?'_

Realization quickly dawned on his face.

"Oh no," his voice was small, but serious as the Canadian-born male rapidly recognized the source of his nervous tirades and jittery disposition. He couldn't possibly.. I mean, he was a guy, and the raven is a **guy**.. not that there was anything wrong with that.. but...

**"Oh God no.."**

**._. ._.**

"Can I go now? Can I go CAN I GO ALREADY?" Atsushi purposely clumped his words together, hoping that the wisps of desire to leave were evident in his voice. The young Frenchman was practically thrown across his father's desk, his personal office within one of the manoir's elegant rooms (just like before, who the hell has a private office in the home considering the circumstances?), who was reclining behind the furnished slab of fine rosewood.

The man, his sire, by this point had long since tired of his only child's tirades, although he voiced no anger towards him for this. Aloisio Duval wouldn't sink so low as to argue with his 14 year-old like that; it wasn't dignified for someone of his position.

"Wellll? Can I? Can I go can I go-"

"Francois, you know full well it is out of the-"

The boy scowled deeply at the mention of his middle name, a title which he did not like very much. "COME ONNNNN," he dragged on, resorting to his last bet:

"_Est-que je peux aller, est-que je peux aller, est-que je peux aller-_"

Aloisio let out a faintly irritated sigh as the youngling began switching to his native lingua franca in an attempt to appease him, the French pronounciations and absolutely perfect tense executions rolling off his tongue. He off-handedly noted that his son's French accent had yet to dwindle despite the months of Japanese conversation before running calloused fingers about the bridge of his nose, releasing an aggravated sigh. _"Qui est au Japon que vous avez besoin pour s'occuper de toute urgence, Francois_**(1)**_?"_ he demanded, slipping into French.

Atsushi didn't bother correcting his father's use of his French name; the man always seemed to prefer doing so even though it is his secondary denomination. "I left something... unfinished... back in _Japon,_" here, he purposely switched from English, knowing his father was more likely to bend at him speaking in his first language over anything else, "_C'est important, Papa. Est tres vrai, pas'que je ne te peux pas dit bien-" _Here, Aloisio cocked a brow at his child's passing comment, to which Atsushi quickly realized his mistake,_ "m-mais il n'est pas important comme les affaires de la Unione Corse, bien sûr!" _He briefly corrected himself before continuing,_ "Mais il est indespensable pour moi-! Je sais que il est un moment tres risqué, mais s'il vous plait, j'ai besoin d'aller au Japon! Aujourd'hui, Papa!"_ he finished his tirade before blurting for extra measure,"Like.. now!"

The Patron sighed in disappointment at the end addition, "And you were doing so well as to not use English," he complained, "_Tres bien, Francois. Je vous donne la permission de retourner au Japon-_**(2)**"

"You're serious?.." Atsushi deadpanned, quickly receiving a deadpanned stare from his father telling him that he better damn well at the very least speak French for the favor he was imposing him, "_Ehh... j-je veux dire, merci_?..."

"_Oui, mon fils. Mais, il y'a une condition.._**(3)**"

**._. ._.**

Maxwell rushed hard and fast towards 5th period.

He was a fail, a real fail right now, allowing his newfound realizations to distract him for so very long, for so many hours! Ignazio was not going to be happy if his facade as a mere exchange student crumbled.

The Canadian was so wound up in his thoughts, reprimanding himself for wasting free time, that he was taken completely by surprise when he bumped into a shoulder, his speed fast enough to force him a few step backwards, followed by the clutter of belongings crashing to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry-" he quickly crouched down to begin stacking the scattered notebooks together, repeating apologies as a pair of slim feminine hands reached to join him, gathering dropped mechanical pencils. "It's all right," the person reassured, and Maxwell didn't have to look up to know it was a girl, "nothing was damaged, right? Thank you for helping."

"It's no problem, my fault anyway," he began straightening up, and his violet eyes at last caught a glimpse of the unfortunate student.

She was tall, that was a given; perhaps only two or three inches short of him, which was really saying something since he himself is rather lanky. Her uniform was pressed neatly, appeared ironed and handled with great care, and even her hair reflected that. Fluffy, lightly-curled locks framed her pretty face, accenting roseate pouty lips and even adding dimension to her curved lashes and jewel-like eyes. He vaguely wondered if that was her natural beauty, for he noticed that her skin lacked the cake-like texture many of the girls in his classes possessed. Her complexion was clear, and Maxwell had to admit he sort of respected her for not collapsing to the powders and slick foundations.

She suddenly smiled, "My books.."

"OH RIGHT-" he quickly handed them over, the girl receiving them with ease. She neatly tucked a loose tuft of hair behind her ear, and just as he was about to apologize one final time and continue to class: "You're not from here, are you?" she abruptly questioned.

Maxwell was taken by surprise at that, "Huh?..."

"You. You're not from Japan, right?"

"Oh.. no, I'm not.. but, why would you?.."

"Oh, it's nothing, just an observation~!" she cheerfully brushed his question off, waving a hand to emphasize her desire for him to let the inquiry die, "Thank you for helping me out a little, good-bye now!" She turned to leave with a smooth twist of her ankles. The young assassin stood shocked at the sudden deduction, wondering just how someone was able to tell he wasn't from the place so soon. _'Unless,'_ a rising discomfort pented up within the pit of his stomach at his thoughts. He didn't want to be mistaken, or be too quick to brush off an encounter, but if he was correct...

"H-hold on!"

"What is it?" the prior sweet mood was marred by a lace of irritation, a reaction which only caused his uneasiness to rise.

"What's your name? You know," he added upon catching the girl's suspicious look, "in case I ever see you about again."

The girl's eyes hardened for a few moments, almost as if deliberating it. For a moment, Maxwell thought she was going to scoff and turn away, and he was even beginning to make a mental note of classifying her as one of the untouchable pretty faces, when her features softened just a bit and she opened her scarlet lips.

"It's Allison. Allison Rhodes"

**._. ._.**

He managed to go by his last two classes, surprisingly without anyone noticing that he had been missing for the majority of the day. He didn't particularly care, anyway, it worked in his favor, and his Fratello wouldn't be angry at his missing classes. Maxwell thought of blowing off 6th period to cool his thoughts in the library, expecting it vacant as he slipped out of class just as the bustle of students from room to room commenced.

Just as expected, the room was nearly empty, save for a student here or there working furiously over a word document and a rather non-attentive librarian popping gum and flipping through the latest fashion magazine. He didn't hesitate to walk right in, zig-zagging through the now familiar labyrinth of shelved novels, slowly relishing the smooth feel of the aging book ends as they skimmed the tips of his fingers...

Only to be interrupted by the sudden collision of his slender digits to another's.

"Oh, hi there!" Izaya cheerfully greeted, watching as his foreign friend's facial expression quickly shifted from confusion to surprise, culminating to what he thought was the same beet-red color the taller boy was back in the lavatory earlier that morning. It was hilarious, including the way he quickly retracted his hands from their prior touching position as if hot.

"O-Orihara-s-san.." he stuttered, completely flustered with voice reflecting that, "w-what are y-you.." the Japanese boy simply tapped on the spine of a book on the shelf, silencing his idiot sentences. "Just something else to read, I went through Wilde pretty fast! Aaaand I'm ignoring some friends until they fix what they lost. Hey, think you could get that for me?" he pointed to a book just beyond his reach.

Maxwell's eyes widened at the request, staring between the owner of the outstretched hand to the desired book. The distance for him was no problem, he could reach it, but it was where it was.

The book was quite literally straight up from Izaya.

To get it would mean to..

He could feel his face burn hotly.

"A-ah, ok," he slowly responded, carefully inching closer to the boy who would just **not. Move. From. His. SPOT.**

"This one you slowpoke!" Izaya then made the worst decision possible (for Maxwell at the moment, anyway). He closed the short distance between the two Raijin boys, clutching at the collar of the taller male's shirt and pulling him close to him, his intentions on trying to retrieve the book faster while still pointing out which one he wanted.

For the poor Canadian, it meant getting closer to him, until he could quite literally **feel **the slow emittion of his body heat. It was a gradual yet pleasant transfer of heat, and despite his already boiling body temperature, he found that he enjoyed it. That, and the faintest scent of... was that lavender? He liked the scent of lavender. Was that from his hair-?

WAIT NO-

"Okayhereyougo-" he quickly shoved the item into the other's arms, and like expected, he was oblivious to the effects he caused. "Thank you!" he cheerfully aknowledged, bringing it over to checkout, "you know, I was going to ask, since, well... the whole ignoring friends thing, but you want to go to Sunshine 60 today? Heard they got a whole new shipment of English books in one of the levels-"

If anyone asked him, Maxwell completely shut down at the words 'Sunshine 60'.

Wasn't that where people went for... dates?...

"Yeah of course," he quickly agreed, not realizing he cut Izaya off as he described a few of the new authors he was thinking about scouring through.

"Oh, really?"

"Y-yeah. Unless you don't-"

"Don't be silly, of course I do!" the raven happily threw his arm through and around the crook of the other's elbow, being completely used to doing it with Shinra.

Maxwell, however, was not, even with Vincenzo as a Fratello.

**._. ._.**

If it wasn't for the fact that Atsushi caught sight of the Raijin backgates, he probably would have broken the door down of his father's private and very expensive car.

He probably would have blamed it on the guards as well.

"Oh come on! Hurry up class is about to let out!" he complained, giving the plush leather interior a vicious kick. One of his assigned guards tried to pacify him.

"Sir, please. Schedule hours at Raijin Academy are about to terminate for the day, why not wait until tomorrow for classes?"

"DUMBASS, it's not about the classes! I don't care a hair's width about classes! Who cares about classes? I don't care about classes!" the French boy had enough, unable to open the specially made locks so he did the next best thing.

With quick reflexes, he rapidly snatched from the holster of his closest bodyguard the loaded Beretta 8000, aiming just an inch from the head of the driver, shooting once.

A single bullet was all it took.

The driver momentarily panicked, his first priority being the safety of the young male in the back. He screeched to a stop, unaware that the same boy took the distraction of the sudden lurch to his advantage, successfully managing to smash the reinforced windows to be able to make his escape. He was already quite a ways off when his guards noticed his departure, yelling for him to come back and fearing termination for incompetence.

Atsushi didn't pay any attention. He didn't care if they were fired or dealt the ultimate punishment, they deserved it for not noticing. The entire time, throughout his trip back to the asian country, there had been a foreboding sense of dread bubbling within himself. He grew anxious, an emotion he usually didn't encounter, and he didn't like it. Atsushi moved quickly just beyond the protective fence border that outlined Raijin's property line, stopping briefly at the vacant turn to reach the front to think, where he collided with the very one he was looking and longing for.

"Izaya-san.."

Said raven glanced up from the curls of drying grass he had been tracing with his eyes at the sound of his name, his face quickly whitening upon realizing who it was.

"Oh my-"

"YOU-"

Izaya was briefly shocked when his arm was taken in a firm grip, being led five or six enormous glides backwards by the taller boy, before recalling his first encounter with him and the words from then.

"W-wait, you're going to do it now?"

"Do what?" Atsushi started, his suspicion melting away as he watched the strange male he had never met before slide a M1911 from Lord knows where. Just what was a kid doing with a semi-automatic?.. oh right.. he recalled the weight of the Beretta, still snugly heavy and pressed to him right, he kind of had no right. "And who're you?"

"No one you need to remember for long," the amethyst-eyed gunslinger affixed the cartridge with a firm click, face betraying nothing but utter coldness. Atsushi felt extremely amused at the utter shift.

"Strong words there," he teased, watching as the other's brow twitched in annoyance as he released the safety, "I'm assuming you're the guy that's been keeping me away for so long. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I last saw my beloved?" At this, Izaya rather visably cringed from behind, suddenly very glad Maxwell put him a good distance from the 1st Year.

The Canadian boy scoffed at his target's claims, allowing his weapon of choice to ease only slightly in his hand. "Beloved? You must be wrong. From what I've heard, you're not exactly that in Orihara-san's point of view." The French boy just about cracked up, and the raven had to briefly wonder if this was what fights between himself and Shizuo looked like.

"'Orihara-san'? What, you're just an aquaintance, using that terminology? I don't know who you are, but you make me laugh. What's with the sudden mood shift then, slinger-boy? You're looking at me like you want to just empty that cartridge at me! Why don't you do it, huh?"

Maxwell immediately pointed the semi-automatic, slanted out of pure custom. His index was firmly over the trigger, just burning and aching to punch the cocky little French boy full of bullet holes. But he had one thing to consider...

"What? Hesitant now? Afraid Izaya-san's opinions of such a good friend of his would shift? Oh don't kid yourself! You must've noticed by now, **right? THE SHIFT OF EMOTIONS WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE?**"

Maxwell could feel his core shudder at being read so simply, so easily. His dominant hand bearing the M1911 began to shake very slightly, not out of panic, but out of anger at himself. At himself and that annoying nuisance, who rose his Beretta 8000 very much the same way Maxwell does. Out of pure instinct, he shifted just enough to cover the other male from sight, barely sensing him in the midst of the unbelievably loud clatter of metal against metal compartments and tension. Despite his unstable emotions, he managed a firm threat.

"You shoot I shoot-"

And was promptly cut off when what seemed like out of nowhere, a thick textbook smashed into his hand, knocking the semi-automatic out. Out of shock, Atsushi released the grip on his own Beretta, quickly moving a step backwards to avoid the surprise of a sharp sharp piece of metal that he has not seen in a very long long time.

"That's a.."

"Kukuri Machete.." the sweet sweet voice of a familiar girl resonated through the leftover eerie silence, "with three different uses too."

Maxwell could hear himself swallow.

"One, it can stab you through; just the tip suffices," slim feminine hands toy with the thrown projectile's twin, "two, the midsection serves well in chopping through with just one. Firm. Swing."

Atsushi could feel a drop of persperation strain down his temple.

"And three, the narrow end is wonderful for whittling and carving off the lives of annoying little pipsqueaks who get. In. My. **WAY**.." rogue lips snarl every word, as if poison.

The younger of the two finds it in himself to respond.

"..What are you doing here, Kat?"

Maxwell's eyes widened. Kat? Wasn't her name..

Her face twisted in displeasure, "That's not my name you pathetic excuse for a brother-"

"Brother?"

"But I thought-"

"I said it once, and I won't say it again: My name is Allison Rhodes. And if you get in my way, I'll but all three methods to good use, understand?"

Atsushi found himself puzzled despite the threat. "But why would you-"

She smiled sweetly, eyes glinting with malice despite her pretty features. "Didn't you hear me before? I said that was wat was going to happen if you get in the way of what I want.." she trailed off, expression never faltering, as she softly twirled the wrist bearing the sharp weapon, ceasing its rotation to pinpoint her object of affection.

The two boys eyes widened in realization.

"You mean..." Atsushi started.

"You want..." Maxwell stumbled, "No way..."

"Izaya-san?"

**xXx**

**Oh boy...**

**xXx**

**Atsushi's speech in rough English:**

**" I left something... unfinished... back in Japan. It's important, Father. It's true, although I can't exactly tell you- B-but it's not as important as the Unione Corse's business, of course! But it's crucial to me-! I know that it's a risky time right now, but please, I need to go to Japan! Today, Father! Like.. now! "**

**(1) "What's in Japan that you need to return so urgently, Francois?"**

**(2) "Very well, Francois. I give you permission to return to Japan-"**

**(3) "Yes, my child. But, there's one condition..."**

**xXx**

**Omg... I hope I remembered French correctly 'cause I wrote a lot it without a translator :'D **

***sigh* Sorry there was lack of... you know... the cannon four characters, but if I didn't do this, the story wouldn't have expanded at all D:**

**I did this over the expanse of like... three days? Something like that.. Updated a week later because I'm off to Anime Expo Thursday to Monday~ *so excited***

**xXx**

**Please Review~~**

**And by the way, I think you guys might want to see this: arancar-no-6. deviantart art/ Maxwell-Atsushi-Kat-282651960**

**It's the three of them, drew them a while ago, finally putting them out there..**


	14. Through Results

**I FORGOT AT WHAT NUMBER I AM IN SORRY GET A BLANK-NUMBERED CHAPTER AS I ASSORT THE LAST ONE DDD:**

**I hate the new FF D: Especially the way they changed 'review' to 'comment', and that after you do it says 'the author would like to thank you for your continued support'.**

**HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?...**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**xXx**

The barrage of cascading footfalls alone is his queue.

"What are you waiting for?.."

Kasuka is always aware that his older brother is somewhat on the... impatient side. Shizuo dislikes beating around the bush, and always has a straightforward disposition. If he thinks you're okay, he'll say so. If doesn't like you, he'll say so. If he thinks you're retarded, he'll say so. Even if he didn't throw deserving criticism about, picking out his false impressions is no difficult task.

He's a terrible liar, after all.

Naturally, the younger Heiwajima immediately knew the other's response of "nothing" was complete bull as he watched him run outside for the fourth time that afternoon.

**._. ._.**

"What?.." Kururi tugged at her older brother's shirt, too short for anything other than a feeble tug at the hems. Orihara Izaya ceased his rabid pacing (or at least slowed down) to spare the little girl a pat on the head. "Nothing to concern yourself with," he reassured, relocating to the living room where Mairu happily played, stacking cherried, wood-stained blocks into mock buildings on the floor. He sank into the plush sofa just a few feet from his braided little sister, "just waiting for something to come in the mail.."

"What?" the older twin pressed, grasping handfuls of his clothing to both strain her desire to know and to use him to steady herself as she climbed onto his lap. Izaya let out a little sigh of exasperation at her actions. Of course, to outsiders, it is a little display of affection: a little girl clamering up to make a chair out of her big brother; a very cute move displaying preferance and even adoration.

However, Izaya knows his sisters.

Kururi wasn't getting off until he tells her.

"Fine fine," he gives in easily. It isn't as if it's top secret information anyway. "Just waiting for some exam results." The middle Orihara wrinkled her tiny button nose at his explaination. "Only?" she looks rather unhappy at the excuse, to which he furrowed his brow in slight confusion. "Yes, what do you mean 'only'?"

Kururi shakes her head, little locks flipping about. "Nothing. Lousy," she releases a sort of pout as she slides from his lap, just as Mairu demolishes her faux civilization with an old stuffed animal that was once his, filled with glee and absolutely oblivious to the scandalized look on her brother's face.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LOUSY-"

**._. ._.**

"WHAT IF I FAILED-"

[Don't be silly, Shinra. I'm sure you did perfectly fine-]

"BUT I SUCK AT MATH-"

[Isn't that why you had Shizuo help you for so many days?]

"AND AT GOVERNMENT-"

[Well, Izaya had to serve for something, right?]

"BUT I'M NOT AS GOOD AT LITERATURE AS KADOTA CELTY MY LOVE WHAT IF I GOT THE LOWEST SCORE-"

[WILL YOU CALM DOWN ALREADY?] The Dullahan promptly smacks the hyperventilating boy, hoping it would soothe both his crazed state and her frayed nerves. She takes a moment to type on her PDA, fingertips creating a resonading pitter-patter on the glass screen as she completes her last sentence. [I don't know why you're freaking out so badly. It's not as if it'll affect your grades, it's just for university credit, right?] Celty holds the electronic to him as the aspiring doctor fixes his askew glasses.

Shinra gives them a firm push on their position at the bridge of his nose, much calmer now. "T-that's true," his voice shakes a bit, still coming down from his frenzied high, "but it's good to pass them! It gives one a head start, a start before everyone else. Plus, I spent a year on this, if I didn't pass it would be a real punch to the face!" his sentence ends with a twinge of despair at the mere concept of failing. Celty let her shoulders fall a bit, showing a mock sigh, as she returned to her PDA to display a fresh note.

[You're already pretty ahead anyway, even without proper credits. You can only wait for now, no use stressing over what you have yet to know, right? It'll arrive soon; so don't freak.]

Shinra manages a smile in appreciation, one that warms her chest and makes the little puffs of smoke from her neck falter a bit. "Thank you, Celty," he sounds cheerful, which increases the stupid little fuzzies within her to an embarrassing degree. [No problem.] she manages, a peaceful silence spilling between them.

"WHAT IF I FAILED ECON TOO-"

[SHINRA-]

**._. ._.**

If anyone asks him, Kadota Kyohei did NOT run out of his house the moment he caught sight of the mailman depositing a wad of envelopes into his family's mailbox.

He did not.

Yanking open the little door on the property side, Kadota just about broke it off Shizuo-style as he scanned the sender addresses, tossing the rectangular pouches void of the domicile he awaits over his shoulder. His family's tamed Akita catches a few of the parcels, mostly junk mail, and began happily tearing into them. The Third-Year didn't acknowledge the dog's antics, his mind currently occupied with the fact that the reply he has been awaiting for weeks is now in his hands.

Kadota feels the canine begin to nose his thigh, almost as if questioning what is absorbing so much of his attention. "Nothing, nothing," he speaks aloud, giving the dog a few affectionate stokes along its fur. Turning back towards the house, at a much calmer rate with the Akita right at his heels, he breaks the seal and pulls the small packet out.

**._. ._.**

"W-well?" Shinra's voice shakes a few fractions, glancing between his particularly silent friends. Shizuo glares at him.

"What do you mean 'well?', I'm not showing anything until I see yours."

"I don't want to show anything!" Izaya childishly wails, cradling his schoolbag in his arms as if the action would provide a wall of protection, "Dotachin, Dotachin~ WHAT DID YOU GET-"

Kadota flushes at the abrupt attack from the boy. "No way," he crosses his arms to fortify his meaning of 'no'. The blond grits his teeth in annoyance, roughly running a hand through his hair. Not even homeroom yet and he's already irritated.

"How about we throw them all out at the same time?" he offers, "that way not one or the other will be put in the spot, yeah?" The raven gives the other two boys a glance, to which they nod and shrug, finding the idea to be better than dancing about the issue for the rest of the day.

"Okay, fine!" Izaya digs the envelope out, the other three producing identical ones out of their schoolbags, "on the count of three.. one, two..."

He strays on the final number until Shizuo yells at him to hurry it up.

"THREE-"

They throw down the folded sheets dramatically on Izaya's desk as if they were grenades, immediately scouring through all but their own.

...

"OF COURSE SHIZU-CHAN WOULD PASS CALCULUS-"

"Oh look! We all got the same Economics score!"

"SHINRA HOW DID YOU GET **THAT** FOR LITERATURE-"

"CELTY SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE ALRIGHTTTTTT-"

**._. ._.**

**xXx**

**Oh look I did it in present tense~**

**I got my AP scores, failed Calc (expected that), got 2 for Lit and Econ, and passed Gov C': I SUK *angsts***

**xXx**

**IMPORTANT NOTE**

**Someone came up with a slight complaint about missing the action between our lovable four Raijin boys, and I'll openly say that yeah! They're right! XDD Last chapter is the only chapter that will ever have the three... suitors... so concentrated. I did plan to add other chapters, which depict how they came to the place in which they are at all the way from parents and birth to now (I mean seriously.. Canada to Japan?.. WAT-), but since those wouldn't include DRRR! characters and therefore would be an original creation, they'll all be published seperately over at my FictionPress account C: Technically, I have a chapter done, but it is one that is much further down the line, so you don't get it sorry C: Don't bother searching either, it's empty XD**

**Also, I am extremely unhappy with the quality of the past chapters, so those are seriously getting edited :/**

**xXx**

**For anyone that PMs me, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to touch FF anymore other than updating this story, so yeah, sorry. I'm on tumblr just about 24/7, so if you want to catch me there you can! Tumblr name is identical to this one, arancar-no-6, so it is up to you gaiz, ok~**

**xXx**

**Even then, I appreciate the reviews (they kinda steer what type of chapter I write next), so please do continue reviewing~!**


	15. Through Scary Movies

**Last update for a while, moving to New York this weekend for college, and I'm leaving my computer behind, so I won't have proper internet access until I get my new school laptop over there.**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: I do not own C:**

**xXx**

_Ominous creaks and soft echoes drill their way through the tense air, surroundings dark and wet with substances no sane person wish to ever lay their eyes on. No natural light peeked through the closed quarters; no escape, no exit._

_Trapped._

_She was trapped._

_Every surface like ice, no longer aware if it was her own frigid fingers, circulation void due to the clenched position of the digits about one of the few defense items she could find about the abandoned rooms. Lips dry and quivering, clothes torn into useless rags barely clinging to her frame and gashes about her brow, hair in disarray and fear in her eyes, she continued moving with slow and hesitant steps._

_Straining her ears as harshly as she can, catching only the sound of nothingness. 'Nothing,' she breathed out softly, a pearl of perspiration trailing down her temple in brief relief. The tiny droplet slid to drop on her shoulder-_

_Meeting a second dollop, thick and gooey in texture._

_She stiffens at the abrupt growling; increasing volumes of the cold fluid streaming down her loose clothing, slicking her skin in greenish curdle, the same sticky bice appearing in the very corner of her sight. It pulsated with life, snarling lowly at her ear as its knobby frame crouched over her, enormous in comparison to her feeble self; 'Trapped once more', she swallowed sharply, terrified of glancing over at her breathing cage._

_The animal screeched, white ivories baring, the savage noise echoing throughout breaking her silence as it came down on her, sinking onyx claws into her skin; tearing, devouring, killing, EATING. Pain overcame her senses-_

_And she screamed._

xXx

"Boo," Izaya scowled, tossing some popcorn at the TV as Shizuo finally released the death grip he had on one of the many cushions decorating his family's living room, "that's so stupid, if you have to have a weapon in the first place because you're trapped with an alien, then why would you ever think you're safe? You're just not," he trailed off, popping a few chips into his mouth. Shinra released a particularly hesitant laugh, Kadota regarding his point with a mild grunt, just as Shizuo nervously studies the ruined pillow in his hands, the puffy stuffing peeking out at different angles quickly becoming the most interesting thing on earth.

Another startling cry emanated from the movie playing, Shizuo's fingernails penetrated the leather, and oh look: the arm rest now sported a three inch gash.

Izaya huffed from his position on the floor, particularly cozy in his warm hoodie as he flipped the coverlet to settle upon his black hair, "If someone screams, don't run to them! Idiots, they deserved to die." The aspiring doctor cocked his head curiously, sitting just to his right, "That doesn't look like enough intestines," he piped, "also, I'm pretty sure they missed adding the vermiform appendix, I don't see it in the chopped ends. What do you guys think?" Kyohei slowly shook his head, a stiff "Please shut up" the only thing he can mutter.

Lights out on a Friday night, with his parents out for the night and younger brother at a friend's house, they clustered in front of the large television despite the room's comfy enormity in the blond's living room.

Now dressed in comfortable pajamas (Shizuo just about lost it laughing when he learned Izaya lacked body hair), a few blankets and pillows thrown about for comfort and some junk food to indulge in, the only thing that appeared to be missing from the picture was a movie to pop in.

Shizuo vaguely wondered why they chose a gory horror.

._. ._.

Suspenseful background effects echoed throughout the spacious room, Kadota mentally cursing his friend's house for providing such an elated effect.

It wasn't that the brunet was terrified. No, he wasn't scared, not exactly; it was just that the sight of mass massacre makes him uneasy. Now, it wasn't that he was squeamish at the sight of blood; Kadota didn't mind the sight of cuts and lacerations, much less a smear or two of crimson. With friends like Shizuo and Izaya that accumulate those daily and another like Shinra that bear true joy at patching such injuries up, it would be ridiculous if he feared the sight of blood, much more if it was under the guise of special effects.

However, the film Shinra scavenged out of his room to watch for the evening went particularly overboard in the guts and bile department.

Said megane shifted position, all faux sunshine and smiles, leaning forward as he studied the screen. "Waah," scenes from the flick reflected on his glasses, "look at that! They involved more of the body's digestive system! I'm kinda tired of only seeing guts~" he sang, the picture of an absolutely ecstatic child despite being rather visibly shaken, "although the human body only has 5 liters, so I don't see how one female can paint the room red, right Izaya-kun?"

Another shriek, this time male, burst through the speakers, followed by Izaya throwing his hands up in frustration, "Why are you running to it?! You run at fire and shooting in the real world! Go away, away I say! Oh look you got cut in half, serves you right." The raven idled away in commentaries, occasionally tossing another snack at the screen in protest, popping every other one into his mouth, "Boo, you suck, boo!"

The host for the evening didn't bother yelling at the teen for pelting the glass with sugar and chips. In fact, he wasn't even paying attention to the younger boy. He was too busy trying to tear his eyes from the movie, only for another streak of claret to dash across the scene. The colorful attack only served to wretch his hazel sight back to the killing, putting him back in terrible square one. Shizuo could actually feel himself pale, nervously gnawing at a nearly nonexistent fingernail, jumping quite considerably at the fearful screaming from a secondary female victim. The other three didn't appear to notice, to his relief, Izaya still tossing crumbs and criticism.

In fact, it was the little airborne obstructions that were distracting Kadota, although he wasn't sure if that was good or not, his attention slowly but surely being captured by Shinra's rather macabre garbling.

"And you know that's a pretty unrealistic killing method my dad once told me that flesh doesn't tear that way especially when it comes to wounds of that magnitude and angle you know for instance this one time-"

._. ._.

The boys chose to call it a night when a third female was killed midair, Kadota went white as a sheet, Shizuo tore another hole into his sofa's upholstery, Shinra gave an unexpected shriek, and Izaya choked on more junk food.

Now laying around in futons, all surrounding the blond's bed, only one of the occupants was in rather deep sleep, soft breathes barely audible amongst the oh so faint sounds of traffic a few streets over. Curtains drawn apart to allow the moonlight to stream in, Kadota had an instant thought of how comforting the cast shadows appeared, bending to the dips and rises of the bedroom's angle and the connecting bathroom door just across.

Until a particular fleeting splotch from a passing car looked just like the blood splashes from the movie, and the thought was punted from his mind.

Shizuo chose to stare at his door, unable to rest. The house was silent, his room was silent, and he steamed with envy upon catching sight of the louse sleepily turn over, only stilling when he found a new comfortable position. He huffed, attempting to do the same as the younger male a few feet away, instead feeling a new ignition of frustration and anxiety when he discovered the movement didn't provide him with the same effect.

Shinra snagged the spot nearest Izaya, and rather than trying to find sleep like the blond or locate distraction like the brunet just a bit further from his own position, he was openly watching the raven slumber. Void of the usual optical frames, mercury eyes kept at a rather intent vigil, watching his slumbering friend with a single wonder in mind. The brunet waited a good long period of time, just watching, before shifting beneath his own covers and raising his hands to cup around his mouth.

"Hey, Shizuo!" his voice was but a hushed whisper, nevertheless loud in the closed bedroom and amplified by the makeshift speaker, "you awake?"

For the record, the blond did in fact hear the other's hoarse call; he just chose to ignore it because at that time, he had managed to reach a state of half-consciousness. A few more whines of "heyyyyy", nearly audible pouts, and tugs on his duvet, he gives up on finding more sleep, sitting up tiredly and haphazardly, responding with a particularly vicious glare. "What," roughly gritting out the demand, Shinra relayed a particularly guarded expression.

"Izaya fell asleep pretty fast," he shortly stated, voice a bit too small for his eccentric personality. In his half-alert state, however, the blond didn't pick up on the minor fault. "So?" huffing slightly in exasperation, choosing to ignore the megane again, Shizuo was just about to lay back down towards the opposite direction and pull the covers over when he felt an opposing force in the form of Shinra grabbing a handful of blanket. "B-but isn't that bad? What if the aliens come like in the movie?"

The blond promptly turned back to give him an incredulous look.

"Stupid," he stiffly lay down after several long moments of staring at him in disbelief, "no such thing as aliens... and it was just a movie anyway." The last bit, added as an awkward reassurance, made the brunet pout in displeasure.

"It could happen!" he insisted, "for instance, it's too quiet right now. Nothing good ever comes out of being in quiet surroundings. That's when they wait for you to jump in their trap!" The blond suspired tiredly, prompting Shinra to continue in mutters, whether the other wanted it or not. "And it's just like in that scene in the hospital with-! OH MY GOD WHAT IF THE ALIEN WANTS TO IMPREGNATE US WITH ITS ALIEN EGGS-"

"Please go to sleep already," Kadota could feebly be heard, sitting up to peer over towards the two boys over his own haze of bedspreads, but it hardly deterred the other boy with his next wild statement: "B-but what if it got Izaya and that's why he's not moving or reacting?! MAYBE IT GOT HIM WHEN HE TRIPPED ON THE BATHROOM MAT!"

"How is that an opening?!"

"Hmmmm," a gentle moan abruptly interfered with the three-way conversation, a shriek emitting from Shinra when he realized where it came from.

._. ._.

The smallest of the four inhaled, scaring the shit out of the other three. Shizuo instantaneously moved to the other end of his bed, Kadota decided laying back down was the best choice, and Shinra squeaked weakly from his stuck position besides the shifting boy, comical tears streaming down his face in fright.

Izaya released a soft sigh in his slumber, delicate fingers already entangled in his free locks clenching and lithe form stretching, turning to lie on his stomach instead, somewhat overlapping a frozen Shinra. The layers of blankets he hogged earlier caught themselves in spirals to wrap around his lower half, cocooning him in warmth as the movements hiked his sweater an inch to display a sliver of skin. One final exhale, the raven relaxed at last, sinking back into the puffy mattress, silence once more reigning supreme.

"I-is he finished?" Shinra shakily questioned, at last maneuvering free only when he received a flimsy affirmative from Kadota. The brunet heaved a breath once he was a few steps away from the resting raven, pointing a particularly sharp look at the blond. "I told you the alien got him!" he cried, keeping his voice low just in case the alleged baby-host became active again, "the eggs were acting up because we were talking about their mom! **Y-you guys-!**" he began mildly hyperventilating. Shizuo promptly took ahold of his elbow, signaling Kyohei for help as he dragged his childhood friend downstairs for a more proper conversation.

"Izaya's alien property! Call the police! Call the Imperial Guard! CALL THE COAST GUARD!"

Kadota promptly smacked him as his voice escalated.

"What does the Coast Guard have to do with aliens anyway?!"

"INTERPOL!"

"Shut up already! You've been spending too much time listening to Celty banter about Martians!" Shizuo forced him to sit back where it started in the living room, "yeah, the flea can be weird as fuck, but no alien from a sci-fi got its eggs in him, okay?!" Kadota took this time frame to shake the final recesses of sleep and nerves from his mind, preparing his own argument to Shinra's claims. "True, and if there even was an alien when would he implant Izaya? Only reason any of us were in the bathroom was to brush our teeth-"

"And!" Shizuo jabbed a finger at him for emphasis, cutting into the other's sentence, "we kept the door open, Shinra your logic makes no sense-"

_CRASH_

All three stilled the second the dainty sound echoed in a clash of various notes, clearly having echoed from the kitchen.

"It's the alien! I told you it was!" a frantic whisper from the megane, and that was all the two taller high-schoolers needed to stiffen and think twice about berating Shinra so carelessly, "someone has to check what it wants! Shizuo?"

Shinra quickly received his second incredulous stare of the night. "Are you out of it? Even if it was the alien, **which it's not-**" he emphasized, despite the slight anxiety slathered in his tone. "Why me, huh? Are you in play with the flea here, Shinra?"

"Come on!" the younger male whined, "I don't have my glasses, so I'm useless at recon! And between you and Kadota-kun, you're the best bet sorry Kadota!" he added the last bit furiously, hands pressed together as a small plea of forgiveness to the other brunet. Kyohei muttered a mere "just stop", both trailing slowly but surely at a safe distance from the blond. Shizuo huffed at his excuses, but seeing is it was his house in the first place, it made sense for him to see what was currently shattering glass.

He chose the longer route now having to go all around towards the stairway so he was opposite the expanse of glass that composed various bay windows (that all cast tall shadows across towards the opposite side, to his extreme dislike) before turning to his left for a peek before actually going into the large kitchen.

During the daytime, the room illuminated due to the addition of more bay windows, which cast a warm golden atmosphere every day before the sun set. Paired with the impeccable Swiss-Coffee walls and the feeble light the fenestra cast at nighttime, the kitchenette was pitch dark, his nerves escalating when he realized his 20/20 vision wasn't doing him much good when he could barely see in front of-

Wait-

What was that?

Just from the corner of his eye, he barely managed to catch the sight of a darker figure drifting about, between the table and the kitchen counter, occasionally dipping its figure to a bend over the floor. It would straighten and move back to the kitchen counter, then moving back to the table in a cycle. _'Fucking weird,'_ he idly thought, some of the fear Shinra had earlier implanted fading with his slight confusion.

He was ready to turn back to the other two following him just a few paces behind, luckily visible due to the close position of a streetlight to one of the many windows, intending to give a mild description of what he had just seen, when he noticed Shinra losing a lot of color, and Kadota staring at something just behind his head. Shizuo had the brief courage to make his question audible, an anxious murmur of "You guys?" before Shinra shrieked, grabbing a handful of Kadota's shirt in panic.

Poor Kyohei wasn't allowed much of a reaction, twitching in pain at Shinra's shrilly screaming. He did manage to have enough sense to exclaim "Behind you!" before the megane placed the entirety of his weight on him, both collapsing at the imbalance. It wasn't, however, a good move for the blond. Immediately whirling to see what had caused such a panic in the two fallen males, he found himself literally centimeters from the darkly-cloaked being. Releasing a noise not unlike Shinra's own terrified yell, Shizuo made the mistake of stepping backwards in shock, quickly tumbling down to join the other two's position on the hard wood floors.

"Show mercy on us!" Shinra abruptly screeched, right after Shizuo, after distractedly rubbing at the impact the fall caused on his hands, noticed that just enough moonlight flitted through the window to brighten at where the creature's feet should be at. The color now drained from his face for completely different reasons.

Shizuo was pretty sure those were Izaya's socks

._. ._.

"What're you doin'?" the flea's tired voice questioned as he reached into his short pockets to draw his cellphone out. He pressed a button, lighting up his face. Izaya still looked half asleep, hair in child-like disarray, auburn eyes hazy from their rest. He yawned for extra measure, rubbing at his eye a bit with his wrist, hand currently cradling a murky half-filled glass.

"I-it was only Izaya, haha.. ha," the doctor nervously laughed, still holding haphazardly on to Kyohei despite the 'danger' being over. Said male cocked a confused brow.

"Wait, what are you doing downstairs?" Kadota shoved Shinra off, "weren't you asleep?" The raven shrugged delicately. "I was," he was strangely calm, swaying a little in place, "but then somethin' 'bout a alien, Interpol, n' I wanted water..." Kadota frowned, "I get that, but how did you get downstairs? We weren't far from the kitchen anyway, how did you-?"

Shizuo eyed him cautiously now.

"Izaya," he carefully started, wanting to be careful about his next words. He received a quiet 'hmm?' and stumble in response, "are you sleepwalking?"

Silence dominated the little area.

"Hah?" he quietly began giggling to himself, nearly dropping the fragile cup. Shinra finally let go, allowing Kyohei to take the glassware off the raven's jittery hands as Shizuo began pushing him back to the direction of his bedroom. "Okay that's weird, I swear I didn't know," Shinra began as Kadota eyed the glass, wrinkling his nose. "I think he was drinking soy sauce," the blond cringed at the mention of the salty condiment, scowling some when Izaya refused to go up the stairs.

"Come on, move," he demanded, trying to kick Izaya's feet from their dug position on the carpet. "I dun wanna," he cried as if it was the most terrible thing in the world, initiating a tantrum not unlike that of a child refusing to go to bed. Shizuo huffed at his resistance, forcing himself to remember that this was the flea, yes, but he was half-asleep and practically useless. "Is he moving?" Shinra asked, halfway up before noticing that his childhood friend wasn't following. "Of course he's not! For fuck's sake, I hate you for this-"

He made quick work of his counteraction, quickly retaliating as he swept the raven from his stiff position and into his arms, bridal style. Surprisingly, Izaya didn't protest or even shift in dislike, in fact...

"Did he just fucking fall completely asleep?!"

"Oh look at that how sweet!"

"You choose when we're here to make a move, Shizuo?"

"WHAT NO-"

Izaya slept on.

xXx

"For real?!"

"Yes, for real!"

"You sure you don't remember anything?"

"Why is Shizu-chan so insistent?!"

"No reason-"

._. ._.

**xXx**

**{STILL EDITING PAST CHAPTERS}**

**I made Izaya a fattie this chapter XD And a weirdo. And oh look Shizu-chan was so nice! :D**

**The movie was a mysterious mix and play on Aliens v. Predator, okay? XD It's been forever since I watched a scary movie, so I'm unsure XD**


	16. Through Part-Time Jobs

**YOU GUYS I AM SO SORRY.**

**I ended up with a LOT of issues in my first semester of college, which pretty much stunted my writer's and artists block some. Now I am a lot more chill, so have a chapter for now!**

**xXx**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**xXx**

With cute streaks through her hair, clear brown eyes, and a perfect figure, Shiraishi Katsue counted herself lucky as she worked her first shift of the day.

The teen worked at a chain store in Ikebukuro as a part-timer after classes, comfortably situated in a location near the main roads which welcomed many customers daily, especially students from the local Raijin Academy who dropped by the large convenience store for a snack to go on the way home.

She herself wasn't from that particular school, and she didn't mind, always having an opportunity to meet cute, smart boys who seemed to always be attracted to her natural charm and looks as she helped ring them up behind the counter. It wasn't even limited to the high schoolers; the co-workers Katsue was hired along with were partly composed of older ladies, most of which had their own families or children. They treated many of their young customers with a gentle smile, with a touch of motherliness, which other teens replicated with a respectful pipe of "Thank you" once their transaction was completed. The rest of them, however-

Young and single men.

In Katsue's point of view, it was quite fortunate.

So as the youngest girl in the store, it was easy to flash smiles and watch as her male coworkers returned it, occasionally complimenting her as the women brought her sweets and gaining favor even with the manager. It was a comfortable atmosphere where she was the center, and Katsue greatly enjoyed it-

Until her boss put a "HELP WANTED" sign at their window-

**-_- xXx … xXx -_-**

He was a student from Raijin, the first to answer the advertisement. Their manager introduced him to them as a part-timer as well, who was going to work with them for a few hours three times a week. "He will start immediately," he said, patting him in the shoulder, "as his senior coworkers, I expect you all to answer any questions about our environment we may have and to treat him well."

They were sitting in the breakroom, listening to their boss as the new employee stood beside him. It was a slight break in time before the rush hour of students leaving school and the adults' lunch hour, their busiest time, and they were taking the time to meet the new hire.

He was a nice thing to look at that was for sure.

Androgynous features were evident in the young student's face, and with his petit figure and slim body he was obviously very attractive. The manager gave him another clap on the back for encouragement, reminding them again to look after him some before stepping back out to his office, allowing them some time to know one another a little before having to get back to work.

With inky hair that fell to perfectly cradle his face, brilliant roses for eyes, and that simple and sweet smile, Katsue couldn't help but notice how several of the other males stared at him, unmoving, as he tilted his head rather cutely and introduced himself, eyes lapsing shut in the midst of his pleasantries.

"My name is Orihara Izaya, please take care of me~!"

**-_- xXx … xXx -_-**

"Orihara-san, I have extra portions of lunch would you like them?"

"Orihara-san, would you like a ride home?"

"Orihara-san, let me handle that for you it must be heavy!"

'Orihara-san' this, 'Orihara-san' that, Katsue was getting sick of it!

It had been no more than a week since Orihara Izaya began working after school, although she could hardly call it working seeing as most of the men were running behind him, ready to pick up and place items ready to be restocked in their shelf before he could even touch the boxes. However, that wasn't the main part of what she considered the issue-

"Sasaki-san, you don't need to do that! It's my job anyway-"

"It's okay!" Sasaki Izumi smiled at him, crouching to stack boxes of hard candy in their corresponding shelf, "it must be tiring for Orihara-san to spend so much time bending like that after all." Izaya smiled delicately in return, pristine hands clasping together, "then thank you for the assistance!"

AND THERE IT WAS-

Izumi flushed red, the change coming without missing a beat as he shyly turned away, mumbling a feeble "It's no problem," as he finished packing the merchandise in place, standing tall with the box in hand, tugging on the tape keeping it in place and offering the shorter boy another smile, "don't hesitate to call for help, it must be hard to take care of the restock-"

"Stop bothering Orihara-san, Sasaki," from the other side of the store, another of the younger males scowled, shifting to a concerned expression as he switched his attention towards the smaller teen, "Is he bothering you Orihara-san?"

"He helped me Kudara-kun, don't be such a meanie!" the raven laughed charmingly, sticking his tongue playfully at the second male.

As expected, he paused for a second, blushing darkly the next from his place sweeping up near the register, puffing his cheeks in embarrassment as he continued pushing the broom along the tiled floor. Izaya giggled to himself, clearly amused, completely missing the look of jealousy that crossed Izumi's face as he finished breaking the last bit of adhesive, breaking down the container with a particularly hard snap.

Scenes like this happened often now, more that several times a day, with the handsome Tsukiya-san, a little older than the rest of the boys and in university, constantly slinging an arm around the younger male (he hardly touched anyone before other than a pleasant smile and handshake) or Yasuda-kun, the closest to her age, who constantly changed shifts with him in case he needed time to study. Most were like Sasaki or Kurada, who did little favors for him, until one time when Koichi-kun helped him with taking inventory the first time. Izaya had excitedly hugged him in gratitude, not realizing that more than half of the staff was watching in silence from the break room's open door.

"Such nice boys," Michi-san next to Katsue on the other register smiled, "it's good that they look after Orihara-kun so much."

Katsue huffed a little, resting against her curved palm, mumbling under her breath.

**-_- xXx … xXx -_-**

The women were no exception, offering him sweets like homemade breads and puddings. She used to be the main recipient, usually offering her the bulk of the items and giving one or two to the boys as a taste.

But now-

"Orihara-kun, why don't you have some sweets? I made them just this morning!"

Izaya smiled pleasantly, that winning smile that seemed to capture everyone's hearts, "it's okay Sachi-san, I'm not overly fond of sweets," he held his hands up, only for Sachi to take them and deposit a wrapped bag of sweet cookies in his cupped palms. "No need to be so modest Orihara-kun, take them! If you don't like them, then feel free to share them with a beloved!"

"Why thank you Sachi-san, you're so kind-"

"Shouldn't we be getting back to work?" Katsue couldn't help but blurt out, annoyed by the attention bestowed on the new worker. Izaya turned to her, dahlia eyes calm, "Katsue-san is right~" he sang, tucking the little packet in the apron given to all workers of the chain store, "rush hour is about to begin~~"

xXx

"And 200 yen is your change, thank you for shopping with us!" Katsue turned on the charm as she worked, receiving flustered reactions from highschoolers who were lined up at her register. It was already well into the afternoon, and the store employees were tending to the last few teens before getting ready for the adults coming in soon for lunch break. The ones on shift since earlier were having a brief break before getting back to work, and a few others were tidying up after the crowd of highschoolers and children came through the doors. And of course-

"Orihara-san is fine working by himself?"

"Orihara-kun, do you need help with that?"

"Isn't that too heavy Izaya-kun? Let me help you!"

Izaya waved his co-workers off, "It's fine I can do this by myself! You guys have been helping me all this time anyway!" he tore the several boxes of merchandise open, starting to fit items into shelves as the sliding doors of the business chimed to life, a figure in blue dashing in just to smash right into the raven. Katsue blinked in shock, hearing scandalized gasps from the other males on duty.

**-_- xXx … xXx -_-**

"IZAYA H-HE'S TRYING TO GET ME-!"

"**COME HERE SHINRA-**"

Another shriek from the uniformed teen and he promptly spun Izaya on his heel, using him as a human shield as a tall blond dressed in identical school clothes strode right in, followed by yet ANOTHER, although this one was calm compared to his wilder counterparts. Katsue stared at them.

Except for the screaming one, the other two were pretty cute-

"Shinra get off!" Izaya elbowed him harshly, forcing him off as Shizuo tried to close in on him from the sides. The brunet let out a second yelp, curling into a ball on the floor with his jacket over his head as Izaya smacked the blond away.

"FLEA-"

"No Shizu-chan, bad!" Izaya pointed a finger at his incredulous face, "not during my work hours!"

"But you don't even know what he did!"

"I said no Shizu-cha- SHINRA!" Izaya kicked the megane who started clinging to his legs, "let me work!"

"But Izayaaaaaaaaa-" he wailed, curled against his friend's back, "I didn't mean to spill juice on his notes! I already said sorry!"

"Are they bothering you Orihara-san?" Kurada called from the end of the aisle, having run over when he started to hear yelling. Izaya waved him away, "I know them, it's okay, Shizu-chan eat some sugar and cool down!" he shoved the package of sweets at him, "Shinra, go organize the noodles!"

"Isn't that your job?"

"Do you want him to get at you?" he pointed at the blond who was curiously inspecting the treats.

"YOU WANT THEM BY BRAND OR BY FLAVOR-"

XxX

Katsue subtly fixed her hair, combing her fingers through light tangles, taking the break from the influx of customers to take out her compact and touch up her lip gloss; she never needed anything more than color to her lips, so she didn't mind the lack of powder or mascara. She finished up by unbuttoning her shirt a little, just as Izaya began having issues with the items at the highest shelf.

"I'm going to go help Orihara-san," Yasuda muttered, about to take a step when he was jerked backwards with a sharp tug. "You crazy? I'll go help Orihara-san, you go back to work-" Kurada pulled again at the back of Yasuda's apron, forcing him another step before he too met the obstacle of another coworker.

"You guys are too short, I'll go help Izaya-kun, you continue working," Tsukiya strode only three steps before being grabbed by his fellow employees. "Fuck that!" Kurada looked angry, a light dusting of red across his face, "I said I was going to help him, so back off!" Tsukiya scowled in return, "Why so defensive? I said I was going to do it, so if you know what is better for you, you'll get back to work, you and Yasuda-" he continued, practically running with them hanging off of him, having more strength than the two combined, barely managing getting three feet within range when they all started talking at once, smacking each other away in a manner not unlike a cartoon fight cloud.

"Orihara-san needs help?!"

"I WILL HELP YOU ORIHARA-SAN!"

"**THESE TWO ARE TOO SHORT I WILL HELP IZAYA-KUN-"**

"Stupid flea-"

The unfamiliar voice drew their attention, the three turning just in time to see the blond that came in just a while ago press against Izaya's back, munching on the sweets the raven gave him earlier, nudging the item precariously perching between the edge of the shelf and his fingers in place, "you're obviously too short for this."

The blush dusting Izaya's features was an obvious sign of defeat.

**-_- xXx … xXx -_-**

OMAKE:

"So~"

Kyohei was a little surprised by the feminine voice next to him, having been too distracted by Izaya shrieking that Shizuo was getting crumbs in his hair and Shinra chatting up the older ladies at the register about his two friends' non-existing romance. The girl was pretty cute, a smile lacing her face and her posture shy and coy as she edged closer to his side, arms crossed beneath her chest.

Speaking about her chest-

"So, what's your-"

"Miss, your shirt is unbuttoned-"

"Eh?"

"Your shirt," he repeated, pointing at her chest, "the buttons are undone."

"H-HUH?!"

"Ah, sorry, excuse me, I have to shut my friend up over there.. SHINRA THEY'RE GOING TO HIT YOU AGAIN-"

"Oh yes, and Shizuo-kun is so sweet to Izaya-kun, true love Sachi-san, really true love! Not as true as mine, but close enough…"

**-_- xXx END CHAPTER xXx -_-**

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed C': Once again, sorry for the massive delay, but enormous writer's block, massive issues with college that weighed me down so badly, and a lot of personal issues simply gave me no desire to even work on anything.**

**A lot is fixed for now, but I still have to make college my priority C: I will still try to update (because you guys were massively responsive to stalkers), but yeah, just letting you guys know.**

**If anyone is still reading this, I am grateful for your support!**

**ALSO:**

**In my absence, I grew to ship Izaya's stalkers Atsushi and Maxwell NOT SORRY NOPE THEY'RE MINE I CAN DO THAT- (if anyone wants I am willing to make the slice of gay I dug up available to you guys, but until then NOPE-)**

**I even wrote some gay for them XD**

**Thank you again and expect this to still be updated~!**

**.**

**.**

**ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SHIZUO PRECIOUS BABY!**


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